


Infuriating to the End

by Crystal_Prisom



Category: Mortal Kombat - All Media Types
Genre: AU Where the Peace Pact Hasn't Been Made (Yet), F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-07-28 18:39:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 31,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16247516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystal_Prisom/pseuds/Crystal_Prisom
Summary: Scorpion, now dubbed Hanzo Hasashi, has just learned the truth about the death of his clan's massacre. However, this doesn't directly translate to peace for the two rivals. It'll take much more time before this becomes a reality.For now, he'll just have to settle on hunting Quan Chi while Sub-Zero struggles with restraining himself to kill either the other annoying man or himself, out of pure frustration.





	1. Prologue

Upon the rather abrupt departure from the Lin Kuei, Hanzo hissed under his breath. Quan Chi, the villain behind what for years he had believed been caused by the Lin Kuei? As his rage started to simmer, the former wraith realized that this reasoning wasn't particularly without its evidence. _And yet..._  Hanzo's eyes narrowed, standing in the walls of his own respective clan. His eyes swept over his students training dutifully.  _And yet..._

This information had been presented to him by a Lin Kuei, who had no reason to offer this information to him. The Grandmaster was foolish! What had he been attempting to accomplish? Hanzo stormed off to retrieve his weapons from his room. He'd take into account what  _"Grandmaster Sub-Zero"_ had told him, but if the information was false...

he'd take his head and Quan Chi's.

* * *

 

Kuai Liang blinked at the empty space that the man who had just been sitting in front of him was. He groaned, stress building up in him. The entire thing had gone downhill the moment that he had walked up to greet Hanzo. Frost interrupting their conversation, right when he had Hanzo's attention, only caused the former wraith to not trust him for the rest of their talk. In a last-ditch effort to gain the man's trust and put their unnecessary rivalry to rest, Kuai had shown Hanzo the hologram of Sektor contacting Quan Chi, but the man had just disappeared afterwards.

The cryomancer pinched the bridge of his nose in a motion that many of his students would have raised their eyebrows at. After all, their Grandmaster was a man of supposedly composed behavior, rarely displaying rage of any sort.  _Frost..._ Kuai sighed in defeat as he walked slowly back outside to thaw and then chastise his frozen yet hot-headed student. A part of him attempted to convince himself that he could put the entire exchange to the side, but the rational side of him knew that this would be eating at him for days.


	2. A New Beginning

Kuai and his more skillful students were taking temporary camp within the Dead Forest where they had just driven back Kot'al Kahn's forces to Outworld. He had sighed in relief when the blood-red sky had vanished; the blue sky taking back its rightful place. They were a long ways away from the temple, and the sun was just beginning to set, bringing out the order to set up camp for the night. The communicator that Raiden had given to him on their last encounter sounded for the first time, and Kuai frowned as he flipped it open. "Who is this?" 

"Sub-Zero? This is General Blade."

"As in Sonya Blade?" Kuai was dumbfounded. Their last encounter was back at the Mortal Kombat tournament when Kuai had been trying to avenge the death of his brother. "YES. We need you back at the Special Forces base. There's been an incident, one that Raiden advised we might need your help for." Kuai sighed. If Raiden offered his name to Sonya, it must be urgent for her to call on him. They weren't exactly on good terms. "I'll be there as soon as I can," he promised.

Looking at his students, Kuai established a person in charge and left them, assured that they would be able to get back to the Lin Kuei temple on their own. 

* * *

"Are you sure that he'll come, Sonya?" 

She glared at her ex-husband. "If he doesn't, you can be sure that I'll bust my foot in his ass. Lin Kuei, Shirai Ryu, they're all assholes." She crossed her arms. She and her team had just brought her husband and her daughter as well as her team back to the base where they were soaking up the fame of saving the world.  _Just like her father._ Kenshi, who had been standing in the corner shifted slightly. "Sub-Zero is here."

Sonya told Johnny to stay with Cassie as she walked with Kenshi to the open floor of the base. There, her guards were standing a few feet away from a man wearing a vest and Lin Kuei colors. She frowned. This guy was not Sub-Zero. He looked a lot more striking and handsome, sure, but this was definitely not the Lin Kuei Grandmaster. "I told Sub-Zero to come here, and he sends me you? I'm not his underling!" Kuai was confused. He looked at Kenshi for help, who spoke up for the poor tired Grandmaster. "Sonya, meet Kuai Liang, Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei. I believe the two of you have already met?"

Sonya whipped her head between Kenshi and Sub-Zero (who had his arms crossed) in disbelief. "You're Sub-Zero." He nodded. "My name has never changed ever since my codename was changed from Tundra. Johnny and his daughter's team have trained with me and my students previously. I aided your daughter and her friends in getting to the Sky Temple, et cetera." Sonya was shocked, and this didn't happen often. Before, Sub-Zero was arrogant and selfish, but this person seemed to hold with him a sense of humility and good will. She beckoned him inside, shaking herself of her stupor. "Come on. I still have to show you the 'incident' I was talking about." 

* * *

"... In the end, Quan Chi was decapitated, but he resurrected Shinnok, and now, our friends can't be brought back."

Sonya and Kenshi watched as Kuai nodded, composed for a second before he started to mutter in Mandarin curses under his breath. "In truth, General Blade, this may have been my fault as well. I informed Hanzo about a year ago about how Quan Chi had killed his clan and family. I am sorry about this." Sonya was taken aback once again. "It's... it's not your fault, Sub-Zero. You couldn't see what would happen in the future. I wanted you to come here because apparently, you're one of the last people that we can trust that Hanzo has spoken to."

She led Kenshi and Kuai to the infirmary where she opened a door to reveal a recovering Hanzo Hasashi sitting upright in the bed. He looked up, hissing in anger when he saw the Lin Kuei. "What is HE doing here?" Sonya stood menacingly. "'HE' is here because he saved my daughter from Ko'tal Kahn and his forces. 'HE' helped her reach the Sky Temple, where she could finally defeat Shinnok. 'HE' is here because he actually helped us, which is more than I can say for you." She nodded at Kuai, walking out of the room. Kenshi sat down in the chair next to Hanzo's stretcher.

"You killed Quan Chi?" Kuai kept his tone cool and steady. Hanzo glared up at him. "What matter is it to you?" Kuai clenched his left hand into a fist. "Why, I have no idea. I've only told you this information, to begin with, and I find out after the event of an exhausting battle that you have used this information to cause harm? That your actions are why I was in the Outworld border, forcing Ko'tal Kahn and his lackeys back? Because you still can't keep your anger in check. This is the STUPIDEST reason why I have been wasting my time."

Hanzo opened his mouth to snap again, but Kuai raised his voice. "AND! On top of that, you also kill the only thing that could have freed the other revenants! I don't know about you, but I consider the fate of having to live as a revenant for the rest of your life a fate worse than death. When I was a revenant, I was a brainless tool, nothing more. I had to build my way back up from the ground without anyone by my side. Kenshi aided you in that, and you betrayed him. I don't _understand_  Hanzo. How stupid can you be?!"

There was silence.

Kenshi cleared his throat. "Well, I'd just like to say that it's great to see you again, Sub-Zero. As for you, Hanzo, unfortunately, he's right. We can't afford to make these mistakes. Earthrealm is at its most defenseless, and we need more support than ever right now." He stopped talking, looking up slightly. He turned to Kuai, interested. "You found a Frost Dragon in your territory?" Kuai blinked in surprise. "Actually, we did. It was a female, and we collected the eggs. I was going to talk with the General about expanding my forces in aiding her in protecting Earthrealm. My hope is that we will be able to domesticate the hatchlings. It's already proving to be a success." Kenshi nodded. "It's a good idea. I'll be sure to bring you back to Sonya before you leave."

Kenshi got up to leave the room. As soon as he had left the room, Hanzo grabbed a tool off of the operating table and threw it at Kuai in an act of aggression. Kuai jumped back in surprise. "What in the name of the Elder Gods are you doing?!" Hanzo threw a pair of scissors, still not answering. Kuai growled. The blade had scratched his arm. "Stop, you imbecile! I don't want to hurt a person who is already injured, but I will if I must!" Hanzo grabbed another metal instrument, but before he could throw it, he found that Sub-Zero had encased himself in a block of ice. He threw it at his face, but it only created a small fracture that quickly mended itself.

"Fuck you!" he snarled.

After a while of waiting for the other man to calm down, Kuai broke the ice block and walked a good distance away from the once hissing and spitting man. He sat in an empty chair, gazing out into the night sky. The sky was not yet black, but instead a dark blue, the stars starting to pepper the canvas. Bi-Han had taught him the constellations, and he wondered if he would ever be able to see him again, in his proper form. "What on Earth inspired you to suddenly throw medical tools at me?" he asked, turning around. Hanzo sat sullenly, looking at the blank wall in front of him. "I just felt like it."

Kuai looked at him for a few minutes in stunned disbelief. "You..." Hanzo turned to glare at him, but when he did, probably the most bizarre thing happened that day.

He laughed.

Sub-Zero, the cold-hearted Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei, threw his head back and laughed. 

Hanzo blinked in dumbfounded amazement before recovering himself. "It's not funny!" Kuai finally stopped, the laughter trickling off to chuckling. "Well, maybe not to you. I just find this entire thing to be useless. You've learned that Quan Chi is responsible for your clan. I never had a hand in your clan's death. What more reason is there for your animosity towards me?" Hanzo crossed his arms. "It's just a natural instinct." Sub-Zero snorted. "Sure. And they say grass isn't green." He got up from his chair. "Goodnight, Hanzo," he said, leaving the room.

* * *

As it turned out, Sub-Zero had spent the night at the Special Forces base. 

Word had spread out about the man's mysterious origins, including some of the women who were gushing over his looks. Hanzo wasn't sure if he wanted to kill himself (although he could admit that the man did look a lot more handsome than before). He only perked up his head when he heard Sonya's voice adopting an unusually friendly tone as she chatted with someone, almost flirtatiously. It was obvious the other man was not interested. A second later, Kuai opened the door to Hanzo's room and closed it just as fast, holding a chair against the doorknob and preventing someone from getting in. He panted in relief, only to notice that he had an unimpressed onlooker.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer."

"WHAT?!" Hanzo almost jumped up in retaliation. Kuai waved him down. "It was a joke. Forget it. I should have remembered that you don't have a funny bone in your body." He walked away from the door cautiously. Hanzo raised a brow. "What's the problem?" Kuai huffed. "This morning, a woman literally threw herself on me. It was a complete invasion of my personal space. I froze her, as expected. Then, Sonya almost does the same thing."

Hanzo scoffed. "I don't see what the big deal is here. They're obviously attracted to you. You act as if you've never been with anyone before." Kuai looked at him. "How did you know?"

Silence again.

"You mean to tell me that you - YOU - have never been with anyone else before?!" Hanzo pointed at him almost threateningly. Kuai shrugged. "No. Why is that a problem?" Hanzo threw his hands in the air. "Un-fucking-believable." Kuai stood against the wall, arms crossed and a leg crossed over the other. "Whatever. I'm stuck with you for an hour. At least. You're welcome," he added at Hanzo's glare.

* * *

Hanzo had finally recovered from the injuries obtained from D'Vorah. He was about to leave the base when he was stopped by Sonya. "Nope. You're not going back to the Shirai Ryu." Hanzo growled. "You can't make me." Could his day get any worse? There was the sound of thunder, and Raiden had appeared. "Sonya is right. We have instead arranged for you to go to the Lin Kuei Temple with Grandmaster Sub-Zero. There, the two of you will put your rivalry to an end and he will teach you the arts of meditation as to help keep your anger in check." Hanzo crossed his arms. "And what makes you think that  _Sub-Zero_ will allow this arrangement?"

"I already have."

Hanzo whipped around to face Kuai Liang, a relaxed smile on his face. "I'm glad to see that you're all packed. We will leave now. Thank you for your hospitality," Kuai said, bowing respectfully. Raiden nodded in satisfaction, disappearing in a teleport. Sonya nodded at Hanzo briefly before casting Kuai a side look that Hanzo quickly ignored. Kuai didn't look at her but instead adopted a cold front and walked off briskly to leave. He stopped when he realized that Hanzo wasn't following him. "Are you coming, or are we going to wait until Christmas rolls around?" Hanzo glowered silently, storming off into the portal.

When his feet touched solid ground again, he shivered at the cold air that had hit him. The snow under his feet was melting to slush due to his heat, but he was still cold. When Kuai noticed this, he opened his pack, retrieving a black fur coat and offering it to him. Hanzo glared at it as if it were an offending object before accepting it. Kuai sighed in relief. _Progress._ The two trudged up the hill to the Temple. As they were walking, Hanzo looked at Kuai, who was wearing nothing more than his vest, and wondered how the man did not seem to feel anything at all.

When they had finally reached the Temple, Kuai's students were there to greet him enthusiastically. Hanzo watched as his adversary's face adopted a smile of happiness and pride as he conversed with his students briefly. Finally, Kuai dismissed them and went to bring Hanzo to his room. "All of our rooms are currently full," he explained with a look of chagrin on his face. "but, as I only sleep in my office due to sleep deprivation, you can have the bed." He opened the door to let Hanzo walk in and unpack his stuff. Meanwhile, Kuai walked into the adjoining room that seemed to be the supposed office and closed the door respectfully behind him.

Hanzo finished unpacking quickly, taking time to observe his surroundings quickly. He saw a framed picture of what seemed to be a younger Kuai standing next to another Lin Kuei clothed in grey. They had cheeky grins on their faces; clearly friends. After further examination, he realized that this other person was one of the revenants that had remained unchanged. With a pang of guilt, Hanzo realized that Sub-Zero wouldn't be able to see his friend again. But, he shook it off quickly. What did he care?

He walked to the table next to the bed, noticing the smaller picture of the two cryomancer brothers. He knew now that they were two separate beings entirely, but they didn't seem that different to Hanzo. He set it back down just as Kuai emerged from his room, smiling as if he had every reason to be happy. "Are you done?" When Hanzo nodded, he motioned to Hanzo to follow him. He led Hanzo through the halls of the Lin Kuei, showing the important rooms in the complex. "And that's pretty much all there is to my Temple. Our meditation sessions will be in the private training room where I usually train Frost one-on-one."

Hanzo nodded. He hadn't spoken once since their arrival. "Someone's quite talkative today," Kuai muttered as they were walking in an outside corridor, just enough for Hanzo to pick up. In a rage, without thinking, Hanzo tackled Kuai to the snowy ground outside, Kuai laughing like a madman. When Hanzo was about to punch him, Kuai threw him off with a sudden energy and force. Hanzo landed in the soft snow with a padded sound, Kuai getting up in a defensive stance to defend himself. He allowed Hanzo to get up, and the former wraith threw himself at Kuai, intending to inflict serious damage. 

However, Kuai easily sidestepped him, tripping him as he rushed past. This only infuriated Hanzo further. After a series of attempted strikes and blocked blows, Hanzo slumped to the ground in exhaustion. "You know, it's not very hospitable for a guest to attack his housekeeper," Kuai stated sarcastically, leaning over Hanzo. He squinted up at Kuai, the sun blinding him. "Fuck you," he muttered lamely. Kuai sighed. This was proving to be increasingly tiring, and yet he offered him a hand up, which Hanzo reluctantly took.

* * *

That night, nightmares plagued Hanzo as he writhed in his sleep. Visions of Kana and his son appeared in his dreams, and the image of not Sub-Zero nor Quan Chi, but Scorpion, and his burning eyes on a skull laughed mockingly at him before he woke in fright.

Hanzo panted, clutching the bedsheets as he sat upright. He focused on breathing steadily, head snapping up when he heard a sound in the adjoining room. He cautiously opened the door, frowning as he saw Kuai struggling with his own demons as well.

The cryomancer was lying on the ground with a small pillow and blanket, breathing heavily as he muttered the names "Bi-Han" and "Tomas", of which only one Hanzo knew. He would never forget the elder brother who had killed him. But his younger brother was clutching the leg of his desk, ice creeping up the wood as the nightmare only seemed to get worse. Hanzo would have just left him there to dream out the rest, but a part of him told himself that Kuai Liang was actually not Bi-Han. From what he witnessed today, this man was kind and fair towards his students and seemed to have a sense of humanity that his older brother never possessed. 

So, he chose to shake the man awake. Kuai sat up quickly, his head colliding with Hanzo's. "OW!" Hanzo whisper-shouted angrily, as to not rouse the other students. Kuai winced in pain, but his eyes spoke volumes of gratitude. "Thank you, Hanzo," he whispered as the man left. "Whatever," Hanzo stated bluntly as he all but slammed the door.


	3. You What Now?

Kuai woke up at the harsh repetition of a firm knocking on the door to his office. "...What?" he groaned, almost whiningly. There was a pause. Suddenly, the door opened to reveal an incredulous Hanzo looking down at the pitiful sight of Kuai with his pillow over his face. "Did you just whine about me waking you up?" Hanzo asked. Kuai threw the pillow at him, which Hanzo only narrowly dodged in time. "Yes, I did. Do you have a problem with that?" Hanzo growled in retaliation. "Just get dressed. I am definitely not waking you up again." Kuai pulled the blanket over his head. "Good."

* * *

Eventually, when Kuai had forced himself to get ready for the day, he walked to the room where he had instructed Hanzo to go to for their lessons where he found said man sitting on the ground. He was admiring the armor on display to the side. "That's my cryomancer enhanced gear," Kuai noted from the entrance, closing the door behind him. Hanzo didn't reply. "What do these markings mean?" he asked, indicating the etchings on the sides of the arms and legs of the suit. "I actually have no idea. Raiden said that they were an ancient form of Chinese language when he presented it to me. He told me about my history and the history of cryomancers. Apparently, there's a material in the gear that enhances my abilities. I haven't worn it yet. I just don't think that I'm worthy of it," Kuai finished, shrugging.

He walked to the center of the room, sitting on one of the mats. He beckoned Hanzo over, and the man sat opposite him, facing him. "Meditation is not just about clearing your thoughts and bringing peace to yourself. It is a method of thinking clearly, which could help to relinquish your anger and also strengthens your focus. Usually, after a proper session of meditation, one may experience heightened senses. I have found that it also increases my sparring skills." Kuai started. Hanzo looked uninterested. This irked Kuai, who was currently comparing the man to Frost and seeing too many similarities as every second ticked by. 

But still, he continued. "Let's just start simply by sitting with your legs crossed. I want you to focus on one good memory, okay? Picture this memory, and hold it in your mind. Then, slowly, let it go from your mind, and see how long you can stay there," Kuai finished. Hanzo frowned. "And what do you think of when you do this, Sub-Zero?" Kuai smiled again; it was beginning to be unnerving to Hanzo. "I think back to my early days in the Lin Kuei. I had a friend named Tomas who dragged me into trouble on a daily basis. But, it was a way to retaliate against the strict order of the Lin Kuei that soon, I relished it." Hanzo noticed that "Tomas" was the name that Kuai had been calling out last night and must be the grey assassin in the picture.

Hanzo chose to focus on an image of Kana, but it kept slipping from his mind, and he growled in frustration. "This is pointless. I am accomplishing nothing here and wasting my time." Kuai tried to placate him. "Hanzo, you were making great progress..." Hanzo laughed mockingly. "This is a waste of time, Sub-Zero. Can you not see that?" Kuai covered his face with both hands.  _Just when things were just about to be going well..._ "Hanzo, please. You are just upset. Sit down and let us start over again-" Hanzo got up and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Kuai stared at the door before he got up. He started to pace the room; something that he would do when he was a child and anxious. Kenshi had told him about Tomas's condition and Bi-Han's whereabouts in the Netherrealm, both things adding to Kuai's stress levels. He ground his teeth, yelling out in anger as he threw an ice ball at the door, freezing it shut.

* * *

Hanzo was about to go to his room to pack and leave when the rational side of him spoke up. It reasoned that he owed Kuai for all the pain he had caused him in his blind quest for revenge. After all, it had cost him his brother, friend, and also his own freedom, for a time. He sighed. And after all this, he still trusted him enough to talk about his early life with him. He headed back to the training room, but when he attempted to open the door, he found that he could not open it. He took a few steps back, kicking down the door. He shivered immediately, eyes widening at the scene.

Kuai was sitting in the middle of the floor, fists clenched. There seemed to be an explosion of ice; the walls and floor were covered in the element with Kuai at the center of it all. He looked up, seeing Hanzo. "Back already?" Kuai got up to his feet arms glowing with a blue urethral light. Hanzo took a cautious step forward. "What happened?" Kuai gestured with his hand. "What do you think?" He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry for this outburst. I'll clean this up, and then we can resume. Hanzo nodded, stepping out. If this was what happened when Kuai got really mad, he didn't want to fight against him in that state.

Kuai eventually allowed Hanzo to walk inside, the two resuming their task again. Hanzo found as they progressed that he was able to concentrate on the image of his deceased wife, and Kuai seemed to be pleased with the progress they made. Eventually, he called it to an end, stating that he still needed to oversee the progress of his clan. Hanzo nodded, thinking about the health of his own clan. Feeling homesick, he walked around the Lin Kuei complex, feeling strangely at peace. The snow falling seemed to calm him down. There was a clamor nearby, and Hanzo walked to investigate the source of the sounds.

There, he found some oddly dressed people wearing a different sigil than that of the Lin Kuei with weapons drawn. Hanzo grew worried and was about to go to inform Kuai when the men were attacked. It was several of the Lin Kuei students along with their Grandmaster. Sub-Zero slid low, knocking a man down and landing a series of harsh blows. Eventually, the Lin Kuei were able to drive back the enemy people. 

The woman (Frost, Hanzo remembered) walked to Kuai. "Tengu, this close to the border? They must have known that we were on the other side of the territory at this time. They must have someone on the inside." Kuai glared at her. "Yes, of that I have no doubt. But not Hanzo." She hissed in distaste. "You are still defending that man? After everything he has done to you, to our clan?" Kuai stepped forwards. "You will never undermine Hanzo Hasashi's status in the Lin Kuei. Understood? I have already forgiven the man. He has been through much worse than you can possibly imagine." Frost had the sense to back down. "Yes, sensei."

Hanzo was surprised that Kuai had stood up for him, especially since the things that Frost had said weren't wrong. He walked away quickly before anyone could notice him. Retreating to his room, Hanzo sat on the side of the bed, contemplating everything that had happened that day. Why would Kuai want to forgive him? He didn't have a reason to. Hanzo shook his head, confused. At that moment, Kuai entered the room, muttering under his breath about a certain "traitorous student". He didn't notice Hanzo sitting there but went into the office to retrieve something. He emerged from the room, shirtless and holding a plain blue t-shirt.

Hanzo's mouth dropped. The other man's torso was littered with scars that he didn't see before; having been obscured by the vest. In addition, there was a black dragon tattoo on Kuai's back simple and yet elegant in its own way. Hanzo had his own tattoo of a scorpion down his back as well, almost in the same design as Kuai's but it was much smaller. Kuai pulled down the shirt, looked out the window briefly for another potential threat, before walking into his office. Hanzo covered his face with his hands. What was he doing? He wasn't some lovesick schoolgirl, especially for a guy that happened to be his rival!

He shook his head to clear his thoughts again before he walked into Kuai's office. He needed a glass of water, but he had forgotten where the kitchen was, and he was too lazy to go. "Sub-Zero, where..." he trailed off in his sentence.

"Yes?" Kuai asked, working for a bit before he looked up at Hanzo from behind a pair of lenses. Hanzo struggled to form the right words. "You wear reading glasses?" he asked stupidly. Kuai blinked once. "Yes. As demonstrated." Hanzo threw his arms in the air. "But why?" Kuai blinked, confused. "Because my vision has declined slightly over the years? Are you alright, Hanzo? You can get a drink of water in the kitchen." He resumed, flipping through paperwork again. He added as an afterthought, "Downstairs on the right." 

* * *

 _Sub-Zero wears reading glasses. He wears. Reading. Glasses._ Hanzo was struggling to think correctly at the moment. He stopped to clear his head, grabbing a cup and filling it with water before drinking it greedily. He sighed in relief. "What the fuck?" Hanzo muttered, before sighing. "I am going insane," he announced to his nonexistent audience. 

He walked back to the room hesitantly, but he didn't know where he could go. The Lin Kuei Temple was still foreign and strange to him. He knocked on the door of Kuai's office, deciding he could spend the time to offer his help. "Come in," the man said. Hanzo promptly entered, greeting Kuai curtly. "Is there some way I could be of aid for you?" Kuai paused, looking up in surprise. "Well... not really." He seemed to be taken off guard by the sudden question. "I guess you could just keep me company. It gets boring signing these papers. I could have someone to talk to if you're up to the challenge. My students have told me that I tend to ramble," he added this last part with a smirk.

Hanzo felt his arms shiver at the look that Kuai shot him, but he swallowed that feeling down. He could **not** deal with this right now. "Sure." He closed the door, he sat in an armchair, settling down. "You can ask me any question you want to ask to start," Kuai stated. "I'll try my best to oblige." Hanzo nodded, pondering over what would be a good question to ask to possibly get to know the other man better. "How would you describe your relationship between you and your brother?" 

Kuai shifted in his seat as if uncomfortable but still kept an eye on the papers. "We... had an interesting relationship. I guess you could say that he was the impassive and emotionless person that you knew him to be, and I was the fool in his shadow. I spent most of my time trying to do something to catch his eye so that he could acknowledge my existence. In truth, Tomas was my brother. He was always there for me, and I there for him." He frowned at the page, noticing something that obviously displeased him to cause him to crumble it and throw it in the waste bin. However, it missed slightly and elicited a "damn" from the Lin Kuei Grandmaster.

Hanzo got up to properly dispose of the paper, but Kuai waved him back. "Forget it, I'll just get it later along with the twenty others." Hanzo noticed that this was an understatement; there were in fact at least forty slips of paper on the ground. He looked up. "How are you this bad of a shot?" Kuai leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. "Because I want to be. Why?" he snarked. Hanzo shook his head, sitting back down. This sarcastic side always managed to surprise him. "What specific trouble did you get into with your friend?" 

Kuai looked up, a look of surprise on his face before it dissolved into a picture of slight regret but also happiness. "The first thing we did was sneak out from the complex in the middle of the night when everyone else was asleep. We went to the nearby village where we would steal vendor food and share it after running away from the angry people. Eventually, my brother found out what we were doing, and he reported us to the Grandmaster. He was all about discipline." He scribbled something on another paper before placing it on another slowly growing pile. "We also played pranks on the other members of the Lin Kuei. Someone would complain about the snow in his room that had been placed by someone, and we would try our best to hide our laughter."

"You were this irresponsible?" Hanzo was having trouble imagining Sub-Zero as someone who would do these things. Kuai shrugged. "I was young and foolish. We all were at one point, but we grew up." He looked up behind a folder, lowering his glasses in a secretive way. "I will admit that there might be someone who might have replaced the sink water with red Kool-Aid in the upstairs bathrooms. In the showers, too. And it  **definitely** wasn't me." He ducked back down behind the papers. Hanzo stared at him. "You are a grown ass man acting like a child." Kuai threw the folder in the air. "What are you talking about? I just said it was  **definitely** not me. One-hundred percent."

Hanzo shook his head, snorting lightly, but Kuai was able to still pick up on it. "He can laugh? I'm so shocked!" Kuai quipped, placing a hand over his chest in an overdramatic display. Hanzo rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dumbass."

* * *

The next day brought a new step in their lesson. Kuai encouraged Hanzo to try and relax, giving him a picture to think about in his head. While Hanzo did as he was told, Kuai suddenly sat up. "Could you please wait here for a minute? I need to check on something," he stated as he left the room. Hanzo stared. Who the hell did he think he was? He immediately got up to leave the room, trailing Kuai as he walked down winding hallways. He ended up outside again, standing in front of the statue that was in the center of the entrance. 

With a flash of light, Raiden was there immediately. Lightning crackling in his eyes, he stood tall, looking at Kuai. "Sub-Zero. Thank you for seeing me at such an inopportune moment. I have news that I knew you might want to hear regarding the Tengu clan." Kuai stood a little straighter, obviously concerned as Raiden continued. "The Tengu clan have allied themselves with the Red Dragon, who you know already." Kuai nodded in confirmation. "I also believe that we have an informer inside our ranks. I have... a few suspects in mind, but I will tell myself and Hanzo to watch our backs. Thank you, Raiden." Kuai bowed respectfully as Raiden nodded his approval and disappeared. 

Kuai exhaled, his breath still visible in the cold air. He trudged slowly back to the temple, and Hanzo hurried to get back to the room, all this new information now obtained. He was able to manage to reach the room before Kuai could enter, sitting back down on his mat. Kuai eventually entered, looking like the entire weight of the world was now resting on his shoulders. As he continued to demonstrate the proper techniques to Hanzo, he could see that the cryomancer was becoming more and more exhausted. "What happened to you? You look like you just finished and lost a fight," Hanzo finally stated bluntly. 

Kuai sighed, wringing his hands. "I just have a lot on my hands right now, not that any of it should be a burden to you. I'm afraid that you've come to the Lin Kuei at an unfortunate time." He chuckled half-heartedly. "I can only advise you to be careful. If you see anything that may be deemed suspicious, please inform me of this. I will also permit you to wear your kunai at all times." He sounded strict, and Hanzo could see why he was such a good leader for the Lin Kuei. "Watch out for Frost. I have a feeling that she may be the one behind this entire mess, but keep your eyes open." Kuai looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "I think we will call it a day. I am unfocused, and you are obviously not learning anything while I am in this state." He got up to his feet, bowing slightly and left again.

Hanzo could see that the other man was extremely stressed, and sought him out later in the office again. "Spar with me," he demanded. Kuai was startled. "Pardon me?"

"Drop the theatrics,  _Sub-Zero_. You are obviously under a lot of pressure; you could do well to relieve yourself of it." Kuai shook his head. "I heard you the first time, I just wanted to make sure I was hearing correctly. You want to spar with me? Is this a wise decision?" He looked so concerned that Hanzo started to doubt his method. "In my eyes, we have just started to form peace between the two of us. I do not want to destroy what is starting to form." Kuai insisted. Hanzo stood there, folding his arms. He didn't move from his stance, but then suddenly seized Kuai's arm and dragged him out of the room. "What the... HANZO! Let me go!" They eventually wound up outside, Hanzo igniting the palm of his hand with fire. "Come on, Sub-Zero. Or have you finally acknowledged that I am the superior one here?"

Kuai stood up shakily. That fire was definitely not helping him steel his nerves. "Hanzo, this is a BAD idea." Yet he donned his arm guards and got ready to defend himself. Hanzo attacked first, Kuai playing safe and not striking at all. This seemed to frustrate Hanzo, who finally spoke, "Have you lost your wits? Sparring involves the other person also throwing punches as well, Lin Kuei." The fact that it had gone from "Sub-Zero", which was bad in itself, to a generic "Lin Kuei" was the first tip that everything was going downhill. Kuai jumped back as Hanzo leapt at him again, an ice replica in his place. Hanzo froze in place upon contact, and Kuai let him thaw before he started to move on the offensive.

Hit after hit, although it was blocked, seemed to loosen a cord that was suffocating Kuai. He fell into a rhythm, landing blow after blow on Hanzo's raised arms to block the shots. He was just starting to enjoy himself when he noticed the fire burning in his opponent's eyes. Kuai immediately faltered. "... Hanzo?" That was all it took for the Shirai Ryu to unravel his kunai and launch it at Kuai. The cryomancer yelped and lifted his hand, realizing that he couldn't dodge it in time. It sank in his hand, passing through to the other side, the tip almost piercing his eye. 

As if waking from a dream, Hanzo shook his head slowly, dropping the chain. "What?" He looked at Kuai, who was kneeling on the ground, hissing as he tried to pull out the weapon lodged in his hand. Hanzo immediately rushed to his side, ready to apologize when Kuai fell backwards, eyes making contact with his. His pale blue - almost white - eyes were wide open, full with fear. Hanzo approached tentatively again, but Kuai again scrambled backwards, intending to put as much distance between the two. His breathing was labored, not due to loss of breath from exhaustion but from terror. 

Hanzo was hit by a wave of guilt. "Sub-Zero-" Kuai yanked out the kunai, throwing the head away from him as he groaned in pain. The wound bleeding more profusely, Kuai got up shakily and slowly walked inside, cradling the injured hand. "My name is Kuai. Use it," he stated coldly as he climbed the stairs. 

* * *

 His hand now bandaged, Kuai dragged himself to his room, feeling as though all the breath had been knocked from his lungs. He was tired, defeated, injured, and just wanted today to end.

He opened the door, Hanzo not in sight. He supposed that he was in the mess hall eating something, but when he opened the door to his office to sleep, Hanzo was there, sitting in the armchair. He looked up at Kuai, standing up immediately. "Are you alright?" Kuai didn't say anything, still upset by their earlier encounter. Hanzo looked ashamed, however, which brought Kuai to soften his cold demeanor. "I'm sorry for forcing you into something that you didn't want to take part in," Hanzo started. "It was selfish of me to demand that of you, and I'm sorry that I lost control." Kuai sighed.

"My brother told me that I had too much emotion and that it would eventually get me killed. I never believed him. I still do today, and that is why I forgive you, Hanzo. I recognize that you just wanted to help me relieve myself of my stress, but perhaps it was the wrong way of doing so. I will not degrade the effort," he finished. Hanzo nodded.

Kuai winced visibly as he moved to lay down on the ground, pulling the blanket over himself. Hanzo moved to the door, intending to leave. He looked back hesitantly at Kuai who was already drifting off in sleep; the entire day had drained him. Hanzo closed the door softly, his entire perspective on the other man starting to change.  


	4. This Ought to be Good...

In the morning, it was not Hanzo who woke up Kuai, but rather the other way around.

Kuai was walking around his room, grabbing objects here and there and stuffing them into a duffel bag. Hanzo blinked harshly as he started to wake up, Kuai's movements breaking his trance of sleep. "What's going on?" Hanzo asked. Kuai, still packing, replied, "We got a call from Special Forces. Apparently, Black Dragon forces have been attacking them, freeing Kano and hassling them in their unorganized state. They're currently residing in New York. Sonya wants both of us to go undercover and tail them. No contact. Just track and report." Kuai zipped his bag shut. 

Hanzo groaned, throwing off the blanket. Soon, he had gathered his necessities and placed them neatly in his own bag. "What about your clan? Aren't you in some crisis?" Kuai's shoulders tensed. "If my plan goes correctly, then I'll find out who the impostor is by the time we are done with our side-mission." Hanzo looked down. "You shouldn't be going, idiot, or did you forget about your hand already?" Kuai snorted. "That is why we will be meeting up with Raiden at the Sky Temple. There, he will increase the healing process by means of the Jinsei's powers, and all of our problems will be solved. Happy?" 

Hanzo frowned. "Whatever." Kuai chuckled. "Who's the idiot now?"

* * *

When the duo had finally reached the base, Johnny was there to greet them. "Hey, guys? Jeez, what the hell happened to you two?" Kuai shot him a look. "Hell," he deadpanned. Johnny's jaw fell before he threw his head back and laughed, or rather, guffawed. "Jesus Christ, Sub-Zero with a sense of humor? I guess the Netherrealm has frozen over." Kuai shook his head, smirking. Hanzo studied the two. It appeared that they must have communicated before, as they were chatting amiably.

"So, no fighting each other, I presume?" Johnny asked as they walked inside. "Or is that too good to be true?" Kuai shrugged. "Still a work in progress. But still, progress." Johnny nodded in understanding. "Alright. As long as one of you is happy." They walked into a conference room, taking seats as Sonya stood up at the head. "Alright. Here's the entire picture." She pointed to a picture clipped on the wall. "That is where Kano's clan is taking refuge. They've decided that if they hide in a big pond, they'll be harder to identify. And while this may be true, they don't know the identities of the two of you. You'll be staying at this apartment that Cage has reserved, and he will be with you as well, although he will remain in the apartment at all times. Kano already knows him. He will just be your 'eyes in the sky'."

Johnny threw his hands up at the use of his last name. "What the hell does it take a man to get his ex-wife to call him by his first name?" Sonya glared at him. "When he stops interrupting said ex-wife's important shit." Kuai fidgeted in his seat. "Hanzo and I can leave-"

"NO. You stay right there," Sonya enunciated, pointing at him. Johnny crossed his arms. "I almost died two weeks ago, and you get so happy and lovey-dovey for a day. After that, it was just work and more work. It always has been! You've never been there for Cassie when she needed a proper role model." Sonya slammed her hands on the table. Kuai pushed his chair back. "Okay. Great talk.  _Come on, Hanzo_ ," he whispered the last part, dragging the confused Shirai Ryu out of the starting fiasco.

When they closed the door behind them, Hanzo looked at Kuai. "What the hell?" Kuai shook his head helplessly. "It's been going on for the past few years. They had an ugly divorce, and it's all spiralled downwards from there." Kenshi, who was sitting in a chair outside, spoke for the first time. "Again?" Kuai sighed. "Unfortunately. It needs to stop. But I'm not touching that mess." Kenshi smirked while Hanzo frowned. The blind swordsman and the cryomancer seemed to be very familiar with each other. "Have you two met before?" Kenshi nodded. "Kuai saved my life when I was wounded, and I his when we were hit by a surprise attack."

They were on a first name basis, too? Hanzo was hit by an emotion that he didn't know. Instead, he nodded casually. Kuai turned back to Kenshi. "Have things been getting better with Takeda? It's been a while since we've had a proper chance to talk." Kenshi nodded. "He seems to have forgiven my absence as a father and we have repaired our bond since." He smirked. "He's also close with Jax's daughter as well. But, they've kept it a secret from Jax. Not that he doesn't know already." Kenshi smirked after that statement. Hanzo frowned. Even their smirks were similar. But, where Kenshi's was crooked and smug, Kuai's was gentler and more playful. 

It was funny how the colder cryomancer was, in reality, the gentler one.

Kenshi eventually sighed. "Well, it would probably be best if you went to leave now. Steel yourselves. I have known that being a roommate with Johnny Cage can be, challenging, to say the least." Kuai groaned dramatically. "I've already got one pest here standing beside me, how will I ever manage to deal with TWO?!" Hanzo's eyes widened before narrowing into slits. "Excuse me?" Kenshi laughed. "I guess you'll have to be the responsible parent, then." Kuai crossed his arms. "But  _I_ wanted to be the childish one!"

His laughter was cut short by Hanzo's punch to the upper arm.

* * *

Johnny seemed to be back in his usual spirits when Hanzo and Kuai met him at the airport. He was wearing his usual sunglasses, opening his arms in greeting when he saw the two. "Hey! There you guys are. I was wondering where the two of you had run off to," he said cheerfully. Kuai smirked. "We almost got lost in the crowd, but then we saw your ego in the middle. It was amazing that we managed to miss it in the first place," he bit playfully. Johnny chuckled. "Ouch, I'm hurt," he exclaimed, hand over his heart. Hanzo rolled his eyes. _When did Sub-Zero get friendly with everyone?_  "Are you two done?" he cut in. Johnny nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Come on, the flight's this way. I got us first class, don't worry."

They boarded the aircraft, Kuai raising a brow. "... Are you sure this is  _first class,_ Johnny?" The ex-actor looked up. "Yeah, why?" he asked while shoving his bag in an expensive looking compartment. Kuai leaned to the side, observing the sidebar. "I'm pretty sure you rented out a private jet." Johnny snorted. "Sure, whatever." The flight attendant who was walking down the roomy area stated as she walked past, "This is a private flight." Johnny took off his glasses. "Say what?" She didn't look back.

Kuai snorted. "Way to go, hotshot," he snipped as he sank into the cushiony seat nearby the window, legs slinging onto the other seats in his row. Johnny pouted. "It was supposed to be first class. I just wasted so much money." Hanzo sighed as he settled down in his own row. He looked behind him and raised a brow when he saw Kuai connecting earbuds to what appeared to be a cellphone. He looked up. "What? Johnny got it for me. It's how I keep in touch." He hit the play button, music inaudible to Hanzo playing as he closed his eyes, relaxed. 

Hanzo sighed, making himself comfortable. It was going to be a  _long_ flight.

* * *

Hanzo jolted up in his seat. He had dozed off, no nightmares haunting him this time, Kuai shaking him awake. "Sorry, but we're here. And Johnny was too much of a pussy to wake you up." Hanzo nodded, getting up shakily. He took a few paces, the feeling returning to his feet as he walked down the stairs to the car that was waiting for them there. Johnny sat in the driver seat immediately, Kuai taking shotgun leaving Hanzo to the backseat.

They drove surprisingly peacefully through the streets of Brooklyn, New York, as Kuai and Johnny chatted. Hanzo spent the time listening in on their conversation and also taking in the scenery. "Frost still giving you trouble?" Kuai sighed. "You have no idea. It's a relief to get a breath of fresh air." Johnny laughed lightly. "She's a good kid; you just have to give her a chance." Kuai shook his head. "She's far too corrupted. Just like Bi-Han. Thirsty for bloodshed and an eye that always locks onto the Medallion." Johnny's head perked up slightly, keeping his eyes on the road. "Did you bring it?"

Kuai snorted. "No, I left it at the Lin Kuei with my power-hungry student. Of course, I brought it!" Hanzo frowned. "What medallion?" Kuai shuffled in his bag for the item, pulling it out. It was indeed a medallion, a dragon engraved in the center of it, looking just like the symbol of the Mortal Kombat tournament. "It increases the strength of my cryomantic powers. It's been passed down from Grandmaster to Grandmaster, but none have truly unleashed its power until I came to be in possession of it," Kuai explained. He shoved it deep inside the travel bag, closing it again.

The trio drew up to the huge apartment. Johnny sighed in relief. "I'm pretty sure that I got the best room in here. The room on the top floor. It is literally the entire top floor, so a lot of space, obviously." This time, Johnny's prediction was correct, the three kombatants examining their room. There was an open living area, with a fireplace and a whole kitchen. The huge TV hung over the mantle of said fireplace, and there were spacious bathrooms for each bedroom and walls and doors separating the two beds in the room. Except, there were only two. "Is there a third bed?" Kuai asked. He hadn't seen a long couch in the area. Johnny scratched his head. "I guess they just want two of us to share." He shrugged. "I'm not sharing with you idiots. I've been married." Hanzo glared. "So have I, dumbass." Johnny pointed. "Exactly. And since you dissed the person who got us this room, you're sharing. Problem solved."

Johnny took the smaller of the rooms, admitting that it was courteous to give more people in a room more space. Before he went in, however, he called out behind him, "Besides, this way, you could help Kuai lose his virginity,  _if you know what I mean,_ " he stated, winking. Hanzo growled, igniting his hand ablaze when Johnny yelped and locked his door. Kuai knocked his hand down. "Are you crazy? We've only been here for a day, and you're ready to burn the entire place to the ground. Just... think first, okay?" Hanzo glared at Johnny's door. "Whatever," he muttered. 

Kuai walked into their room. There was a sliding door that led to a balcony outside, giving them a beautiful view of the city. The sky was already starting to darken. The cryomancer unpacked, putting his clothes in the dresser. He looked at Hanzo, who was just walking in. "You can take the closet to put your clothes in," Kuai said, pointing to the closet. The pyromancer nodded, doing the same. Kuai finished cleaning up first, grabbing a pair of light clothing and informing Hanzo that he was going to go to wash. Hanzo walked out, opening the fridge. As he expected, there was no food in there. He frowned, closing it.

He continued to look around their living space until Kuai walked out the bedroom door in sweatpants and a skin-tight t-shirt, a sight that made Hanzo's throat go unexpectedly dry for some reason. He looked away, making his way inside the bathroom with his own pair of clothes. He splashed cold water on his face, sliding his hands down his face. "What the fuck is wrong with me?" he asked himself. He tried to think back to thoughts of Kana, and when he did, he knew the reason for all the weird emotions he had been feeling today. 

It only took a slap to the face from himself to make sure that he was awake.

When Hanzo emerged from the bathroom, he walked to Kuai, who was sitting on the bed, wearing his goddamn cute reading glasses and flipping through a book.  _Wait, CUTE?!_ This had to stop. "Kuai, I can't sleep in this room," he stated. Kuai put his book on his lap, pushing up his glasses that had been sliding down his nose in concern. "Why? Are you afraid of my judgement or that you might hurt me? Hanzo, nothing bad is going to happen. It's just two men sleeping and sharing a bed. We've done this many times in the Lin Kuei." Hanzo sighed in frustration. "No, but-" Kuai made a slicing gesture across his throat, silencing him. "No 'buts'. The main reason we are doing this is so that we can put this rivalry to an end, once and for all. Sleeping next to each other is a sign and demonstration of trust. The faster we get through this, the faster we get done."

His reasoning eventually broke through to Hanzo, and he reluctantly got under the covers, relaxing. Kuai turned on his side, facing the edge of the bed away from Hanzo as if to make him feel more comfortable. The sounds of the traffic outside somehow was able to let Hanzo drift off to sleep, miraculously.

* * *

When Hanzo opened his eyes, the first thing that registered in his mind was that there had been no nightmares that night, which was a surprise. 

The second thing was that he had an arm around his roommate's shoulder, practically spooning him. 

This caused him to fall back in surprise, falling on his ass to the ground. Kuai sat up immediately, a blue glow surrounding his right hand as he tried to identify the source of the noise. He looked down at Hanzo. "Are you alright? What happened?" Hanzo opened his mouth, thinking better of himself and coming up with a lie. "I just woke up from a nightmare." Kuai looked suspicious but decided to let the matter drop. "Sure," was all he said.

Kuai went into the bathroom to dress while Hanzo dressed in the main bedroom. The two walked out of the room, Johnny setting up the satellite equipment for imaging over them for their upcoming tasks. "Nothing major today, guys. We have the entire day to settle down and get to know the area better." Kuai nodded his consent. "We should probably go shopping for food and stock up the fridge," Hanzo started. Johnny nodded, not tearing his eyes away from the machinery. "Sure. You two can go someplace, and I'll finish setting up this damn thing." He kicked the equipment when it did something he obviously wasn't happy about. Kuai snorted. "What did that thing ever do to you?" Johnny glared at him. "Oh, shut up. Just get out of here, idiots."

It was cold outside, Kuai wrapping a grey scarf around his neck as they walked out. He was wearing a red sweatshirt and tight jeans, while Hanzo wore a black leather jacket with a light grey shirt inside and looser jeans. "Where do we go?" Hanzo asked. Kuai shrugged. "If Johnny hadn't kicked us out so rudely, I would have looked it up." Hanzo glared. "And whose fault was that?" Kuai looked up at the slightly taller man. " **Definitely** not me," he answered airily, eyes blinking innocently. He pulled out his cell phone, searching for grocery stores. The light that came off of the device seemed to illuminate the shorter man's eyes.

"Got it!" Kuai said triumphantly, sounding too pleased with himself. This elicited a snicker from Hanzo, and Kuai gasped in fake-shock. "Again? I'm going to get you to laugh one of these days. One day, Hanzo." The Shirai Ryu shook his head. "Whatever."

* * *

Hanzo selected the produce at the store once he demonstrated he had a greater understanding of what he was doing, while Kuai went to look for non-perishable items. When he returned with candy, soda, and other items of extreme unhealthiness, Hanzo drew the line. 

"You only barely convinced me that we needed the chips and juice; we do NOT need this." He gestured to the stuff that Kuai had dumped in the cart. The cryomancer looked up with pleading eyes that made Hanzo slightly falter.  _I need to stop doing this._ "Aw, come on, Hanzo! Don't be such a grump!" Hanzo crossed his arms. Kuai laughed. "Not that it matters. I'm paying with my money, so I get to buy what I want." Hanzo stared at him, incredulous. "Are you serious?"

"How did you think we were going to purchase this stuff?" Kuai said. "With our eyes?" They went to the checkout area, paying for the food and left the store, walking down the streets. They decided to take a longer route home, wanting to get a better lay of the area. The sun was just beginning to set, and while they were walking in a mostly abandoned area, three masked men walked from the shadows.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" The leader of the group asked. His two friends had pocketknives in their hands, poised to attack. Kuai nudged Hanzo, who placed his bags on the ground next to Kuai's.  _"No weapons or fire,"_ Kuai hissed under his breath. Hanzo exhaled, notifying Kuai that he had heard. "We'll take your money and possessions, and you won't get hurt. Simple deal," the unknown man continued. Kuai nodded, slowly approaching with his hands in the air when he threw his hand at the guy's throat, cutting off his air supply.

Immediately, Hanzo jumped to defend Kuai, striking at the man on the right, while Kuai diverged to the left. They were able to dodge the slashes of the knives, subduing their inexperienced opponents easily. When they had been knocked out, they turned to face the leader, who was struggling to get back up. Kuai walked calmly up to him, and with a quick but effective blow to the head, he was out cold as well. "Well, that was quick," Kuai quipped unhelpfully. Hanzo shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose but trying to suppress a breaking smile.

The two returned back to their temporary living headquarters, finding Johnny sitting in a chair at the bartop of the kitchen on his cell phone. He looked up when he heard the door close, and he slipped the device away. "Hey, guys! I assume your 'hunting' was successful?" Kuai gestured with his arms. "I guess so." They placed the bags on the countertop, Johnny immediately rummaging through them. "Junk... junk... OHH! Who bought the Milky Way?" Kuai, who was helping Hanzo put the vegetables and fruits in the fridge answered. "I did, obviously." Johnny chuckled. "Thanks, man."

They all sat down, Kuai talking to Johnny about the places they had seen in their extended walk. Johnny identified possible places to set up their cameras, and Kuai was the one who confirmed the placements. "What is going on between you and Sonya?" Hanzo asked. Johnny grimaced. "Where to begin? In the beginning, everything was going fine. We were both happy. But after Cassie was born, Sonya started to get more addicted to her work, not focusing on what was right in front of her. In the end, it got so bad as to the point where we just split up." Kuai sighed in sympathy. "You didn't deserve it. People change over the years. Besides, didn't Kano finally make his appearance, and that's what caused Sonya to get more and more involved in her work?"

Johnny shrugged. "Who knows. All that matters is that I raised Cassie to make sure that she won't treat her children the same way." Kuai nodded. "She's a good kid. Wish I could say the same for Frost, but..." he shuddered, making Johnny cackle. "Dude, what is it with that woman? Last time I was there, she was staring daggers into my back." Kuai groaned in embarrassment and chagrin. "Of course she would. I have no idea."

Hanzo didn't say anything, because he still remembered his last encounter with the female cryomancer, and their description wasn't wrong in any account.

* * *

 

That night, only one person was sound asleep. "Hanzo?"

The Shirai Ryu, also wide awake, whispered back. "What?"

Kuai shook his head. "I've had a bad feeling ever since we came here. Like there's something following us." Hanzo frowned. "Are you sure it just isn't paranoia from stress? You've been acting strangely recently." Kuai looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Hanzo gestured with his hand. "The jokes, the sudden talking with other people, none of it is like you." Kuai huffed, laughing slightly. "Well, to be fair, you did only see me as an enemy. You didn't know that I have a side that is surprisingly human." Hanzo nodded thoughtfully. "I guess." Kuai frowned. "I just think that there's someone out there who's watching my every move. It's been bothering me ever since we came here." Hanzo sighed. "You're probably just stressed, that's all. Just get some rest, okay?"

Neither one could shut their eyes.


	5. The Trio (Plus One, Two, Three?!)

"Rise and shine, beauties!" Johnny sang, slamming the other bedroom door rudely.

Hanzo groaned, throwing off his side of the blanket. "I'm going to kill that asshole," he growled. Kuai sat up and stretched, bending down and standing up straight like a cat, which caught Hanzo's attention and made him look away to diminish his red face. "He's a good person; he's just annoying at some inopportune times. Give him a break, Hanzo. He's going through a lot." Hanzo hummed in assent, going to the bathroom and changing.

When he walked out, Kuai and Johnny were sitting at the circular glass table. Apparently, Johnny had cooked eggs on the stove, and Hanzo forgave him in that one instant. He sat down, eating breakfast while listening to Kuai and Johnny talk. "You guys shouldn't be in any trouble; Kano will definitely not notice you. Remember, the mission is to observe and report, but if you have the chance, break that bastard's face." Hanzo scoffed, but Kuai just nodded as if he was intending to run up to Kano, punch him, and run away. "Is that all?" Johnny was about to add something more when a solid knock landed on their apartment door.

The three people quieted down immediately, Johnny getting up and walking to the door, kitchen knife in his hand. He slowly reached for the doorknob, and when he finally rotated the knob and threw the door open, he dashed and placed the knife in a warning gesture under the unknown man's neck. Their guest was wearing pitch black shades with a grey sweatshirt and jeans. His hands were raised. "Johnny? Could you please put the knife down?" Kenshi asked tentatively.

Johnny, who was still frozen still, shook himself from his stupor. "OH! Whoops, sure." He brought the weapon away, letting the blind swordsman inside. Kuai looked up, grinning. "Kenshi? Wow, what did you do to piss off Sonya?" Kenshi laughter was short, like a bark. "She wanted someone to help Johnny with his task in case something went wrong. I volunteered. I was getting bored with repairs." He sighed, sitting down in another chair. "I just want to say that your sleeping in Johnny's room, because there is no way that three people are sleeping in one bed," Kuai established, glaring at Johnny to emphasise his point. Johnny groaned. "Man! Fine."

* * *

Kuai and Hanzo walked down the streets of the busy city, Kenshi talking in their comms. "Can you hear me, guys?" Kuai spoke, "Yes, I do." After Hanzo had affirmed as well, Kenshi directed them to the cafe that was across the street from Kano's location. They were apparently taking refuge in an old and rickety house, but still standing. The two men walked into the cafe, Kuai grabbing his book and glasses case from his backpack. 

When their waitress arrived to get their orders, she gave Kuai one last lingering look before she left, but he didn't make eye contact with her. Hanzo huffed in anger, and what he now knew was jealousy. Kuai opened his book to the marked page, pushing up his glasses to their secure position. Hanzo looked out the window, narrowing his eyes when he noticed a large truck unloading crates and bringing them into the house. He turned back to Kuai, who looked up. "What?"

"We didn't come here so that you could read your book," Hanzo growled irritably. Kuai rolled his eyes. "As a matter of fact, I wasn't. The book was upside down, anyway. I was watching the guys move the crates. One of them on my side dropped one of them, and apparently, there's weaponry in them. A gun fell out, but the guys hid it quickly. Happy?" He lifted up the book, and to Hanzo's exasperation, the book was indeed upside down. "Well, make it more realistic then," he said as the last word, and Kuai flipped the book around, smirking in victory. 

Hanzo relayed the information to Kenshi, who sounded like he was scribbling it down. He looked up again, the truck leaving as a man stood outside, surveying the surroundings before walking back inside the house. According to the pictures they had seen, this was definitely Jarek, one of the more important people in the Black Dragon. Hanzo told Kenshi the information and sipped on his drink that he had ordered. When he looked back to Kuai, the cryomancer was unfocused. He was staring at something in the crowd, and Hanzo tried to follow the path of his eyes, but there was nothing there. "What's wrong?" he asked. 

Kuai was motionless before shaking his head. "I thought I saw something." He looked back to his book, but occasionally, he would look back into the crowd, nervously.

After a while of watching the house with no movement occurring, Kuai's head perked up unexpectedly. "Is it just me, or does it smell like perfume?" Hanzo could detect the faint smell, and when he nodded, Kuai opened the lid of his cup, sniffing the liquid. His eyes widened, and he closed it and walked up, throwing their drinks away. He walked back, dragging Hanzo with him out of the shop. "Kenshi, I think there's someone tracking us. Either the Black Dragon or a third unknown party. We've been drugged. These comms are linked with tracking devices, right?" Kenshi's confused but composed voice came on, assuring them.

Kuai stumbled in his steps, Hanzo catching him and moving them to an abandoned alleyway. "Kuai! Hold on-" he stumbled as well, head suddenly drowsy. As his vision became more blurry, Hanzo felt his eyes begin to close. Just before he lost consciousness, he could make out one blurry dark figure standing above them. 

* * *

When Kuai came to, he was tied to a chair with rope, another person tied to his back. "Hanzo?" The other man began to stir. "Hanzo, wake up. I need your help." The pyromancer shook his head, ridding himself of the drowsiness. "Where are we?" he asked. Kuai scoffed. "Do I look like I know?" Their hands were behind their backs, Kuai thinking over their situation. "I can make a knife, but I need you to be still, okay?"

Once the blade was created, Kuai went to work, sawing at his bonds. Once his hands were free, he started to cut at the ropes more quickly, getting out in just a matter of minutes. He went to help Hanzo, and then both of them were free. "Thanks," Hanzo said, to which Kuai nodded. A sound echoed through the room, the two looking up to see a cloud of sawdust falling from the ceiling that was made of wood planks. A basement.

There was more dust as the person above them walked across the length of the floor, the footsteps increasing in volume as they walked down the stairs to the two captives. Kuai formed an iceball in his hand for defense, the two standing behind the door. When it opened, Kuai threw the ice at their captor, the man becoming encased in a block of ice. Kuai jumped back, shock on his face. Tomas Vrbada, his best friend, stood there frozen with a look of surprise of his own etched on his face. Hanzo immediately recognized him as well. "What is a revenant doing here?" he asked Kuai accusingly. The cryomancer shook his head. "I have no idea."

The ice shattered, Smoke raising his hands. "Wait! Kuai, it's me. Like, actually me." Kuai hesitated. "Then tell me something that only Tomas would remember, and not that dead husk." The grey assassin grinned wickedly without hesitation. "You had a stuffed animal dog that you kept until you were twelve." Kuai dropped his hands in defeat and embarrassment. "That's... whatever." Hanzo walked forwards. "How were you freed?" Tomas smirked. "Jade freed me. She was possessed by an ancient deity and was able to undo Quan Chi's spell. She was intending to grab Kitana and Liu Kang, but she grabbed me instead. The spell was good enough for two people, and since she didn't want to waste it, she cast the spell when someone else was in the radius."

"Someone else?" Hanzo questioned. Smoke nodded, walking up the stairs and motioning towards them. "Come on, guys!" Kuai shook his head. "He's still the same." Hanzo looked at him, wondering how he was feeling about the entire situation. He squeezed his shoulder. "Everything okay?" Kuai let out a shaky breath. "I just found out that my best friend is free from his imprisonment. How am I supposed to feel?" It wasn't stated angrily, but rather worried and stressed. 

They walked up the stairs, stopping in the living room where Tomas was sitting next to a shady figure. "Hey, Kuai! Look who it is!" 

Both Hanzo and Kuai's hearts stopped when they came face-to-face with their murderer/brother, respectively.

Kuai reacted first. He drew his Kori blade, swinging wildly at the shadow. Noob Saibot teleported away with ease, sitting in the living room. Kuai buried his sword in the table. "What. The fuck. Is that doing here?" he hissed at Tomas, who raised his hands in the air, nervous. "He's human now," was the reply. "But with my undead powers," the now-alive Bi-Han added nonchalantly. Kuai growled. "Fuck you, bastard. You were better off dead." Hanzo was unsure what to do. He hadn't known that Bi-Han was the Wraith known as Noob Saibot, but apparently, Kuai had known. "When did you find out that he was undead?"

"When I was cyberized and fought him at the source of the soulnado. From that point on, he disregarded me as his brother," the cryomancer spat. Bi-Han sat there, unconcerned. "And you never were," he stated bluntly. 

There was silence.

The air grew colder. "I am glad that I do not share blood with you. You murdered innocents because you  _liked_ it. I will never associate myself with you again." Bi-Han walked into Kuai's personal space, standing taller then his younger sibling, just as tall as Hanzo. This required Kuai to look up at him. "Then don't. You are too pathetic to be linked with me in any sort of fashion," was the black assassin's reply. Kuai's face displayed a multitude of emotions, starting shocked then transitioning to anger. With a roar, he struck out with his palm, a blue ray of light appearing from his palm. In a second, Bi-Han was frozen, but just as Kuai raised his hand to strike him down, Hanzo caught his hand. "Don't. He's not worth it," he urged softly. 

Kuai struggled briefly before stopping, body slumping against the taller man's. He looked up with eyes full of defeat and sorrow. Hanzo looked around the room. The walls and floor were covered in ice, similar to the state of the training room that one day. He took that as their cue to get out, and he walked/dragged Kuai through the door, leaving a confused and torn Tomas with a frozen Bi-Han.

Kuai was silent for the walk home, before he finally spoke up. "I had hoped... maybe after I showed him how hurt I was by his comment that he would apologize. But he not only doesn't do that, he sticks to what he said." Hanzo sighed. "This is my fault. If I hadn't killed Bi-Han, he wouldn't have acted this way." Kuai shook his head immediately. "You are not to blame for this. He was always this way. It would have happened eventually. I was just too blind to see it." He looked so miserable, Hanzo couldn't stop himself when he embraced Kuai in a hug. The cryomancer froze, eventually returning the gesture. They stood there, eventually breaking away from each other. Kuai chuckled. "Thank you, Hanzo. It's been a while since I've been hugged."

They walked into the apartment, Johnny and Kenshi relieved to see them. Their comms had been destroyed, and they lost contact with them as a consequence. Apologies were given and accepted, Hanzo describing their encounter with the ex-revenants. "Why did they kidnap you, then?" Johnny asked, confused. Kuai looked up. "Shit." He stood up, taking off his jacket and shaking it. A clatter was heard; a beeping device that wasn't theirs fell to the ground. Kuai crushed it under his foot, destroying the tracker. "They've been tracking us."

"Of course we did."

Tomas was standing under a big air vent, demonstrating the way he had come in from. A second later, Noob appeared in the room, teleporting in. "I missed you, Kuai," Smoke walked up to his friend. "And Bi-Han did too. He's just bad at heartfelt talks." The black-garbed assassin crossed his arms but didn't deny the statement. Kuai felt a spark of hope in his chest, but he shoved it down. "Forgive me?" Tomas opened his arms. "You didn't do anything wrong," Kuai said, hugging him back. "Other than drugging me, abducting me, and tying me to a chair, but other than that, yeah." 

When they separated, Tomas elbowed him. "So, did Sektor take over the Lin Kuei?" Kuai nodded immediately, ignoring the others' confusion. "Yeah. I've been on the run since." Behind them, Bi-Han growled. "Sektor's an asshole." Kuai looked at him, crossing his arms. "He's more tolerable than you are, that's for sure." Everyone was quiet, waiting for another blowup, but Bi-Han laughed instead. "Wow. You've definitely developed a biting verbal blow, haven't you?" He got up, walking to his brother. "I'm not walking the rest of the way, idiot." Kuai huffed. "Who's the idiot?" But he ended up returning the embrace. 

Bi-Han separated from Kuai, walking past him to Hanzo. "Look who we have here. Have you regained a brain again? Or are you still a hothead?" Hanzo did not rise to the bait. "I am sorry for killing you in the tournament. Quan Chi led me to believe that you were responsible for my clan's massacre. I killed him in the end." Bi-Han frowned. "A shame. I would have killed him myself." There was lessened tension between the two, but it wasn't completely gone.

"I have no idea what's going on," Kenshi said, a smirk creeping on his face. Johnny facepalmed. "Stop lying, you asshole. Sento and your telepathy told you everything."

* * *

It was an awkward atmosphere, Johnny and Kenshi feeling as if they were out of place. They were all sitting in a circle around the glass circular table, no one speaking up. Kuai eventually got bored, speaking up. "I did tell you that someone was watching us." Kenshi looked up, Johnny frowning. "Look, it's not my fault that I had my doubts. You literally looked like you had a few screws loose from stress." Kuai threw up his hands. "What the hell? Why is everyone saying that? I am not stressed at all!" Kenshi snorted. "Sure. And the sky isn't blue."

Kuai turned to the blind swordsman. "Well, why didn't you catch it in the beginning?" Kenshi shrugged. "Stress." Kuai groaned. "I swear to the Elder Gods if someone says that damned word one more time, I will kill you." Johnny and Tomas laughed. "By the way, how was Cassie doing without my strikingly handsome face?" Johnny asked Kenshi. "She's doing fine with her friends. Sonya isn't bothering her, so she's fine." Kuai added, "She's defeated Shinnok; she's more than capable with handling herself." 

Johnny snorted. "Sonya's got a stick up her ass. I sometimes wonder if it was even worth it." Kuai frowned. "Don't say that. You've obviously had good experiences, just remember those and forget about her." Kenshi nodded, while Johnny sighed. He looked up suddenly, a cheeky smile on his face. "Here we are, talking about my love life. What happened in the past few years with you, Coldilocks?" Kuai glared. "I only tolerate that for so long, Johnny." Tomas leaned in, interested. "But you still haven't answered his question." Kuai rolled his eyes. "You guys already know. I'm boring, okay?"

Johnny snickered. "Poor Subbie. Can't get laid." Kenshi spat out his drink, laughing uncontrollably. Kuai crossed his arms. "Thanks, guys." Kenshi stopped laughing, placing a hand on Kuai's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know that you're waiting for the right person, but how long are you going to wait?" Kuai smirked. "As long. As I need." Tomas shook his head. "I can't believe you. Girls literally throw themselves on you, and you don't even look at them." Kuai shrugged. Johnny piped in. "Sonya was hitting on him." The grey Lin Kuei's eyes opened wide. "SONYA did?" Kuai rubbed his arm uncomfortably. "I didn't like it. It was... weird."

Johnny nodded. "I appreciate the gesture, man." Tomas shook his head again in exasperation. "You are getting laid whether you like it or not. I'm making sure that this happens." Kuai snorted. "Good luck." Kenshi chuckled, saying, "I think you might be taking a wrong approach in this." Kuai turned, glaring at the man. Tomas was confused. "What are you talking about?" 

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," Kuai enunciated. Kenshi raised his hand in an apologetic motion. Bi-Han was staring at Kuai during the entire conversation. "If you are running away from the Lin Kuei, why are you wearing the Dragon Medallion?" Kuai looked down, just noticing that he was wearing the object. Johnny and Kenshi stopped laughing, watching the entire thing with a sense of dread. Hanzo tensed from where he sat. "I stole it," Kuai said, keeping a level gaze with his brother's eyes. Bi-Han's eyes narrowed. "I call bullshit."

"Why do you want to know, anyway?" Kuai asked. He was glaring, but inside, he was racked with apprehension. "I just want to know the truth, and what my brother's gotten into these past few years," Bi-Han stated. "Is that a lie, too?" Kuai asked. Bi-Han leaned back, taken off guard. "No! Why would I lie?" Kuai ground his teeth. "Because you always wanted more and more power? If I told you that I was the Grandmaster, you would either hate me or try to kill me and take the Medallion for yourself."

"I don't want your stupid Medallion or title," Bi-Han said, none of the hatred behind his words. "I just wanted the truth. Besides, I've heard stories that the Medallion chooses its possessor. I know that it would reject me." Kuai slumped in his seat. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm acting like this." Kenshi leaned to the side. "Stress." Kuai jumped up to his feet, a blue glow in his palm when Johnny waved him to calm down.

"So, Grandmaster, huh? How's that working for you?" Tomas asked. Kuai shrugged, uninterested. "It's a lot of work. I train all of the students and sign a lot of paperwork. Not as fun as I thought it was going to be." Hanzo scoffed. "How did you think that it was going to be fun?" Kuai threw his hands in the air. "I don't know! I just thought that it was going to be less desk work than this." Hanzo shook his head, exasperated.  _He's so stupid. Stupid, childish... and cute..._ "Hanzo's the Grandmaster of the reformed Shirai Ryu. We have a... working pact between us." Kuai explained. Bi-Han looked at his rival, "You have? Interesting. How has that been going?" The more the two conversed, the more comfortable they seemed. 

"It was destroyed in another incident involving ancient Blood Magic daggers called Kamidogu. I have been rebuilding it these past years, and as far as I know, it's still standing," Hanzo answered. Johnny looked up. "By the way, I got another bed pulled in the living room. I can move the furniture, and you and Tomas can sleep there and use the main bathroom." Bi-Han nodded his consent. 

* * *

That night, before Hanzo drifted to sleep, he noticed that Kuai was still wide awake, his pale eyes troubled. 

"What's wrong?" Hanzo whispered. Kuai didn't say anything, and when Hanzo turned to his side, he was shocked to see tears on the man's face, falling from his eyes. "Kuai?" Hanzo was confused and worried. "I don't know what to do," Kuai whispered, barely audible. "It just felt before like there was a hole in my chest when I found that Tomas was a revenant and Bi-Han a wraith. And today, just as I had come to terms with what had happened, they just barge into my life. I feel torn. How am I supposed to fell about this?" 

He was asking Hanzo, the Shirai Ryu realized. "I can't answer this for you, Kuai," he answered truthfully. "But if I were in your place, I would accept that I and Bi-Han and Tomas have come a long way, and sometimes, forgiveness is the best thing you can do." Kuai didn't react, but Hanzo felt as though he had gotten his point across. He laid back down, staring up at the ceiling. After a few minutes, Kuai turned to his side and wrapped his arms around Hanzo's waist, resting his head on the other man's chest. Hanzo didn't move, but watching Kuai relax at the contact made him change his mind about pushing him off, and they both were able to drift off to sleep, basking in the other's body heat.

Neither one of them had a nightmare that night, just like the other nights they had spent together.

And yet, Hanzo still dreamt. He was standing in a while gentle light, not knowing where he was. Without intending to, he walked down the stairs and walked into the kitchen where he saw Kuai there, cooking something in a pot over the stove. Hanzo was shocked when he walked up to him without hesitation, wrapping his arms around the man's waist, nuzzling into Kuai's neck. More surprising, Kuai didn't attempt to shove him back but melted into the embrace, and when Hanzo turned him around gently, he leaned in.

He woke up before anything else could happen, and while he felt ashamed about dreaming being intimate with Kuai, he was also disappointed when the dream ended. 


	6. Breaking Down

"Well, aren't we just the cheerful morning group?" Johnny smirked as he gazed around the table and its inhabitants. Tomas was rubbing his eyes sleepily, hair sticking up on one side while Kenshi had his arms crossed grumpily. Bi-Han was spreading something on his toast, but it looked like he was trying to stab the slice (which he eventually did out of pure frustration). Kuai sipped on coffee, getting out of his seat for a new book to read. Hanzo's eyes followed Kuai as he walked away. When he realized what he was doing, he snapped his head in the other direction.  _I really need to stop this._

"Alright, boys. Here's the agenda for today. Kenshi and I will stay here, while Liang and Hasashi go out to scout the area. I think that Tomas and Bi-Han should stay here as well. " Johnny stated factly when he looked down at the listeners, attention shifting to one person. "Did you listen to a goddamn word I just said?!" Kuai, flipping a page, didn't look up. He adjusted the glasses on his face, everyone's eyes on him. Tomas snickered. "What's with the glasses, Kuai? You trying to appear smarter?" Kenshi piped up. "Actually, he got them about six months ago when he noticed that the words on paper were getting harder to read." Tomas had a blank stare on his face. "You're telling me that he needs them? Like, for real?"

Still, Kuai was too engrossed in his book to look up.

Sighing, Hanzo tapped his shoulder, resulting in the man lifting a brow but not looking up just yet, eyes still skimming the pages. "Hmm?" Hanzo looked up at Johnny, a grumpy look on his face. "You might want to look up from the book." Kuai threw the book down in a sudden act of aggression. "What. Johnny. Do you want? Let me guess, you need me to wipe your ass again." Johnny's face was enough to make Hanzo laugh in another lifetime, but it did get Tomas to laugh." The ex-actor went from a look of shock, to hurt, and ended in indignation. "Hey, wait for a damn minute-"

"I heard you the first time, Johnny. Jeez!" Kuai shoved his glasses back up (scary to Johnny, but cute to Hanzo) and picked up the book again. "Am I allowed to go back to my book, or do you need me to feed you?" Kuai shot, and without waiting for a reply, hid his face behind the novel. Tomas looked from his friend to Kenshi repeatedly. "How long has he been like this?" Kenshi looked up from his drink, an amused grin on his face. "You mean the bookworm or the sass?" Tomas waved his hands wildly. "Both!" Bi-Han leaned in, having recovered from the shock he received as well. 

"Well, Kuai's always been reading, but as of recent, he's had more time to do what he likes," Kenshi shrugged. "Apparently, he takes pleasure in a good story." Tomas shook his head in disappointment. "Kuai, look at what you've fallen to. A bookworm? Really?" 

* * *

"Why are we even here?" Hanzo grumbled.

"You make it look like I want to be here," Kuai scanned the crowds around them, the sounds of the mall deafening. Apparently, Kano had been making deals in broad daylight, and they had received intel that there would be a meeting in the area. As of the moment, the two were sitting at a table and watching the people walk by. Hanzo roughly snatched his cup. "If he doesn't come, I'm going to be pissed." Kuai looked up. "Aren't you always?" Johnny's voice cracked through their comms. "God, what crawled up your ass and died this morning?" Kuai didn't answer, but looked to the side, angry for some reason.

Hanzo shifted, choosing to not reply and potentially escalate the situation into a direction that he didn't want to go. Kuai turned back, fiddling with his cup of coffee. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on." Hanzo didn't know, either. The other man was changing in attitude, and his temper seemed unusually short. "It's fine. Let's just focus on this, okay?" Kuai nodded, a determined look on his face. A group of girls passed by, obviously pointing at Kuai and giggling amongst themselves. Kuai didn't pay attention. Hanzo frowned. It just seemed so fake! _I th_ _ink you might be taking a wrong approach in this._ His snapped back to Kuai, who was staring at the top floor. Could it be because... Hanzo looked at Kuai, pulling out his earpiece, urging Kuai to do the same.

"Sub-Zero, are you-" He was cut off by loud shouting above. Kuai looked back up quickly, cursing and getting to his feet. "Kano's on the top floor. I thought you said he was on the first?" Johnny piped in again. "That's what the report said." Hanzo put his comm back on. "He's making a deal right now, but they're arguing." A new voice came on. "Can you identify the other members of the party?" Bi-Han asked. Kuai squinted. "I think its Red Dragon. Odd. I thought they were enemies." They didn't interfere as instructed but reported what was happening. They got up and left, leaving the building later. 

"Alright, that's a wrap," Johnny said, popping the "p". "Thing is, we can't pick you guys up until we are certain that they've left the vicinity. And you can't leave for the same reason. So, why don't you non-millennials take a walk around the mall?" Hanzo frowned. "Wait a minute-" The line cut off.

"Fuck Johnny," the Shirai Ryu muttered. Kuai shrugged. "I would." Hanzo looked up, shocked. "What?" Kuai looked up. "What? Is that so wrong? It's a changing world, after all." He casually sipped his drink as if nothing was wrong. Hanzo shook his head. "Wait, so then you're..." 

"I have no preference. Everyone is a person, well, except for Outworlders. And Edenians. You know what, I'm fine with people who are Earthrealmers. Is there a problem?" Kuai tilted his head as if challenging Hanzo to speak out, but he didn't see it like that. To Hanzo, it was a motion that he struggled not to blush at. "I don't have a problem at all," he eventually got out. "Actually, as of late, I have been struggling internally with myself." Kuai nodded sympathetically. "It was difficult for me at first, acknowledging it."

"I loved my wife," Hanzo blurt out before he could stop himself. "She was my everything. And now she's slowly being replaced by a man who, and I am afraid of saying it out, I am finding to find more endearing than her." Kuai smiled gently. "There's nothing wrong with that. I do believe that it is time for you to move on in your life, but never forget the good memories you have had with her." Hanzo thought back to a time he had been sitting with her in the garden, talking as if they had an eternity. 

When he blinked, he realized that he had been thinking about this for a while, and Kuai had wandered off. Cursing and jumping from his seat, he walked through a sea of people and scanning the faces for the person he was looking for. He eventually broke to a clearing, looking around. When he was about to shout out, he felt a soft tap on his shoulder. He whipped around, coming face-to-face with Kuai. "Where the hell were you at?" Hanzo half-shouted. Kuai blinked. "I told you that I needed to use the bathroom. Where were you?" Hanzo snapped, "Looking for you. I didn't know where you had gone."

Kuai shrugged casually. "I didn't know you didn't hear. Sorry," he added. Hanzo exhaled, all the built-up stress releasing from his system. "It's fine," he muttered. Kuai smiled. "Well, now that we have emerged from our table of isolation, do you want to look around like Johnny suggested? We might find something." Hanzo sighed. He couldn't destroy that hopeful look on the other man's face. "Okay, fine."

* * *

"What is this?" Hanzo poked the blue, soft and puffy food that was in a cup. Kuai stared at him, disbelief etched on his face. "You're telling me that you have never had cotton candy?! Have you ever lived?" Hanzo shook his head, amused by the other man's reaction. Kuai nudged the candy towards him. "Actually, I'm not sure that you'd like it, but at least have one bite," he urged. Hanzo frowned, pulling a strand from the cup and putting it in his mouth. He grimaced at the sugary taste as soon as it hit his tongue. "Sweet," he got out. Kuai snorted. "Of course you say it like it's a bad thing."

"This is pure diabetes," Hanzo said, pushing the sugar back to Kuai, who ate a mouthful. Hanzo flinched. "How can you stand and eat that?" Kuai put his elbow on the table, flexing it so that his hand which was holding the fork pointed at Hanzo. "It's not my fault that I have a shitty taste," he quipped, a light of mischief glinting in his eye. Hanzo snorted, playing along. "You're the one telling me?" Kuai laughed, head tilting back.

Hanzo had felt hesitant at first with his interactions with Kuai, but now, he wasn't as afraid anymore. Whether it was Kuai's confession (not really) or the slow acceptance that he was starting to move on, the talking was starting to flow more smoothly. Kuai was about to speak when his cell phone buzzed. Frowning, he read the text that Johnny had sent telling them that they were parked outside. "We have to go," he groaned. 

"Well, how did the date go?" Johnny asked as they were walking to his car from the window. Kenshi sat in the passenger seat, leaving Kuai and Hanzo the two seats in the back. "Shut up, Johnny," Kuai said without any heat, sitting down. "What did you do in our glorious absence?" Johnny exaggerated. "Well, I got lost, but not really, and Hanzo tried cotton candy," Kuai summarized. Johnny stopped at a red light, turning around. "You haven't had cotton candy until today?" Kuai nodded with great fervor. "That's what I was saying!"

Kenshi sighed. "Well, good news. Sonya's calling everyone back. She thinks that we might have an insider aiding the Black Dragon who might have tipped them off ahead of time, and she wants people she can trust nearby her." Kuai nodded. "So, we're going back home, now?" Johnny nodded. "Thank fucking god! Even though I'm going to Sonya-Hell, I guess it's better than here." Kenshi smirked. "While we deal with Sonya, Bi-Han and Tomas can go back to the Lin Kuei with you and Hanzo." The Shirai Ryu looked up. "I'm still not going back to my clan?" Kenshi shook his head. "I'm sorry, Hanzo. There's trouble brewing within the Lin Kuei, and I have a feeling that Sub-Zero will need your help." Kuai groaned. "I almost forgot. It's Frost, isn't it?" 

"On the record, I can't say anything. Off the record, I'd watch out for her and others who you might trust. Only trust the people here," Kenshi stated.

They had all packed their luggage, Johnny speaking up before they left. "Obviously, even though, we're all wearing standardized clothing, I still booked private airline for us. You're welcome." Kenshi didn't react, walking out the door of their apartment, replying, "Thanks, moron." Kuai followed suit, "Thank you, attention-whore." Johnny laughed good-naturedly. "Kenshi, I think he beat you," he called out. The blind man, who was wearing his dark shades again, frowned. "Damn." Tomas cackled. "That's something I need to get to doing." Bi-Han elbowed him, shaking his head. On the way out, he and Hanzo caught each other's gaze, both shaking their heads. "We work with children," Hanzo stated in a monotonous voice. Bi-Han chuckled sarcastically. "I've worked alongside these idiots my entire life."

* * *

“Thank god. If I was in that plane another minute, I would have thrown myself off the damned thing,” Johnny groaned, stretching in relief. Kenshi punched him. "Stop being an egotistical baby, idiot," he snapped playfully. Johnny whined in protest, Kuai swinging his bag like a bat and hitting the ex-actor. He fell to the ground, lifting up an arm. "I'm being bullied! Help me!!!" Kenshi sighed, reaching to help the man up when he grinned and snatched his hand back. "Nope! Bye, Johnny." 

Kuai snorted, running to catch up with Kenshi as they all sat in the car, Johnny sprinting to get in the car before it pulled away. "Fuck you guys," he panted, shutting the door as the car started to move. "No thank you," Kuai replied. Smoke was sitting in the trunk without a seatbelt, Hanzo driving and Bi-Han taking shotgun. Johnny was on the left side, Kenshi on the right with Kuai in the middle. "You know, I think I might try to get hooked up with someone," Johnny eventually said, leaning back. Kenshi sighed. "If this is just to make Sonya jealous, I swear..." Johnny pouted. "No! I'm just trying to do something with my life other than being hassled by my ex or being surrounded by testosterone, you know?" Kuai snorted. "Not that you're complaining about either situation." Even Bi-Han couldn't repress his snort as Kenshi cackled, Johnny still trying to figure out what he was trying to say.

"Oh, real funny," he snapped when the meaning had been understood. Tomas piped in, "What, you haven't been fantasizing about my beautiful face?" Kenshi bent over in his seat, laughing harder as Kuai leaned on him for support. "Ok, that's fine and all. It was a good joke, even if I was on the blunt end of it. But, as I'm going to get laid, what are we going to do about this hunk of meat here?" Johnny said as the laughter had died out, placing his hands on Kuai's shoulders. The cryomancer shook him off. "Stop raping me with your gross hands." Tomas gasped. "Kuai! I never thought I'd hear you say those words!" 

"Ok, but for real," Johnny said loudly. Bi-Han turned around. "Why do you care so much about what he does with his love life?" Kenshi took the question. "Because over the past few years, we've actually become pretty good friends, and of the three of us, he's the only virgin." Kuai groaned. "Oh. My. God. Just leave me alone!" Johnny elbowed him. "Of course, if we are ever going to get that to happen, we'd probably have to go to the other kind of stripper club, right?" Kuai's eyes popped open in horror. "What the fuck, Cage! Shut up!" Kenshi shook his head at Johnny, but as Johnny opened his mouth to say more, Kuai froze his mouth shut.

There was silence for what felt like the first time in forever. "Why couldn't you have just done that in the beginning?" Hanzo asked, monotonously.

* * *

"Look, all joking aside, I'm going to miss you. For real," Johnny said, seriousness etched on his face. Kuai nodded. "Yeah. It was fun while it lasted." They hugged, Kenshi watching from the side. "No homo, though," Johnny joked when they had broken away. Kenshi groaned. "Jesus Christ, really?" Kuai rolled his eyes. "It wouldn't be Johnny otherwise, right?" He embraced the blind swordsman. "Stay safe, Kuai," Kenshi advised ominously. Kuai arched a brow. "Don't I always?" Johnny spoke up. "Your last idea was to just barge in and start firing everywhere." Kuai crossed his arms. "It worked, didn't it?" Johnny threw his hands in the air. "And I got shot three times!"

"But it worked."

Kenshi sighed. If he could, he would probably be rolling his eyes. "Bye, Kuai," he said, pulling an indignant Johnny away. 

Kuai was still snickering as Hanzo led him and the other Lin Kuei to the portal. "I didn't actually mean it when I suggested the plan, but they seemed willing to do it, and we just did it. He got shot like, six times." Tomas shook his head. "You have changed, my friend, for better or worse I do not know." Kuai smirked. "Damn right. And I wouldn't have it any other way." Hanzo choked back a laugh building inside of him. He could relate to how infuriating that smirk could be sometimes, as Tomas looked at his friend with one of disbelief.

* * *

"Love what you've done to the place. The fire really brings out the lighting and everything," Bi-Han spoke casually.

Kuai took off running. "It isn't supposed to be on fire!" he called back. There was a blaze that had been lit in the Lin Kuei temple, the four travellers noticing this as soon as their feet had landed on solid ground. The cryomancer froze the various spots where the flames were starting to lick greedily at the dry flooring, running through the halls. At last, he threw the doors to a room open, standing still in shock.

"Stay back, Sub-Zero!" Frost hissed. She held an ice knife to a young boy's throat. Kuai glared. "Let him go. This is between you and me, Frost." She laughed cruelly. "Do you take me to be a fool? Enough! I will let the boy go when I am given the Dragon Medallion and am given safe exit from this wretched place." Hanzo crouched low and ready. "Just give me a signal," he whispered, just audible for Kuai to pick up. But the Grandmaster lifted a hand. "No. Frost, you want the Medallion? You can have it." Tomas yanked at his arm. "What are you doing?" Kuai hissed under his breath, "Trust me."

He threw it at the female who caught the trinket but kept the knife levelled at her hostage's neck. "Now. Leave so that I may go." Kuai stepped forwards. "You won't ever get the chance." She frowned in confusion and looked startled at the feeling of cold creeping up her leg. Frost looked down in horror as ice began to encase her in a prison. She dropped her weapon in shock, the young student running away and out of the doors. Eventually, she had been frozen solid, a look of terror and anger on her face. Kuai walked over and removed the Medallion from her icy fingers. 

"Jesus," Bi-Han said, shaking his head. "That was extreme, especially for you." Kuai shrugged. "She threatened my student's life. In addition, she wanted the Medallion, so I gave it to her as requested." Hanzo stood straighter, putting his kunai away. "Your temple is still on fire, Grandmaster." Kuai sighed. "Don't I know it." Tomas waved his arms. "Aren't you going to do anything?!" At that precise moment, another older guard entered the room. "Grandmaster! Thank the Elder Gods. Someone started a fire in the temple, but we were able to extinguish the main source. Our men are looking for other places similar to it.

Kuai nodded. "Thank you. See that everything is cleared out, and we will see you in the Dining Hall." 

Bi-Han shook his head. "Grandmaster life has spoiled you." Kuai tilted his head. "Actually, I don't really see a difference at all. Right, Tomas?" The gray ninja groaned. "He got me to do all the basic stuff for him when we were younger, and he did this by blackmailing me." Kuai snickered, placing a hand on his friend's back and leading them out of the room, leaving Frost behind ("She'll thaw eventually," the Grandmaster had assured them). They cleared out Frost's room, bringing in a new set of bedsheets and materials. "I guess you'll both have to share again. Until we get another room set up," Kuai said. 

Tomas nodded. "Fine, but you better get it done quickly. I'm done sleeping next to this snoring Noob. Hah, get it?" Bi-Han, Hanzo, and Kuai all deadpanned. Tomas chuckled awkwardly. "Uh... guys?"

Bi-Han ended up punching him in the face.

* * *

Hanzo leaned back in his chair, making himself comfortable. There was a trial going on; the trial of Frost's fate. 

He looked up as Kuai stood up from his own seat, addressing the people. "People of the Lin Kuei, we have discovered the reason behind the fires in our temple earlier today, and with it, a sudden (but not unexpected) betrayal. Here, the person who sits before you is the culprit." Frost, bound and gagged to the chair she was sitting in, glared at the onlookers. "Today, we decide her judgement," Kuai continued. "You will raise your hand to vote on this snake's future. Who would like this traitor to stay in the clan?"

No hands were raised. Everyone had their own bad experiences with the female cryomancer. She glared daggers at the people. Kuai continued. "Who wants to see the traitor executed tomorrow in the morning?" A few hands had raised, and these came from people who had been abused horribly by Frost, but it was not the majority of the people present. Kuai nodded, satisfied, as he finished, "And finally, who wants to have the lying two-faced bitch banished, never to return?" At this, a sea of hands rose in the air, signifying the decision. Frost had been dragged outside and thrown into the snow, hands unbound.

She got up, spitting curses at the Lin Kuei and their Grandmaster, but Kuai just shook his head. "If you don't leave right now, then I'll remove your head from your shoulders." With that, Frost finally regained the sense to turn tail and walk away.

With that matter taken care of, the students had started to walk away when Kuai called them back. "I still have one more announcement. As of late, all of you have known that a Shirai Ryu has been living within our quarters for some time. I want to assure everyone that there is no reason to fear this man. He is as trusting and caring as I am, and that is a fact." Hanzo looked up in shock at Kuai, who with those words, looked down and stared at Hanzo before looking back at the crowd. "In addition, with the departure of Frost, the Lin Kuei have gained better people in her stead. During my absence, I have found my brother and best friend, alive and well. They will be living with us from now on, so treat them as if they are your own blood-brothers."

Cheering rose up, a chorus of "welcomes" and "hellos" echoing through the room. Kuai smiled, but Hanzo could see from the side that it was definitely a smirk, from the way that one side tilted down in a playful manner. He looked up slightly, startled. Kuai was looking down at him again, and he could feel himself get flustered. _Elder Gods, if I am going to feel like this every time he does that, I'll never survive a day in this place._ Kuai's smirk grew slightly before he walked down. He left the room, the students clustering around an excited Tomas and moody, grumpy Bi-Han. Despite himself, Hanzo felt himself getting up and following the cryomancer.

He found himself in an empty hallway, the walls dark with the lack of light. Hanzo noticed the figure turning the corner at the end, and he walked briskly but quietly after him. He continued this until he paused. Kuai was facing... Kenshi? Hanzo peeked from around the corner, listening to their conversation. 

"... had hoped that it wouldn't happen," Kuai was saying.

Kenshi placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's fine, Kuai. Everything will be okay. Frost walked her own path, and you must make sure not to get caught up in it." Kuai sighed in frustration. "Yeah, it's just... I could have done something. Maybe been less harsh. I don't know." Kenshi shook his head. "Remember, Frost chose to do it for herself. You had no part in her decisions, Kuai." The cryomancer stared at the floor for a long time before looking up. "Thank you, Kenshi. I know what it means if you are found to have snuck away from Special Forces, but I am thankful." Kenshi shrugged. "It isn't that much of a deal. Told Sonya that I was going for fresh air and time with Takeda, and she agreed. He's outside waiting; I brought him with me. He kept making jokes about Rapunzel and her prince. I think I only encouraged him with the way I climbed up through the window." 

Kuai laughed. "He's a good kid. Make sure you raise him right, not that I need to tell you that. Just... let's not have another Frost." Kenshi nodded. "Relax, Kuai. I swear that everything from here will be easygoing." The swordsman levitated (in a way that reminded Kuai of Ermac), descending from the window's height to the snowy ground. Takeda waved up, Kuai returning the favor. 

"Are you alright?"

Kuai literally jumped up a good foot. He whirled around. "Jesus Christ! Hanzo?" He stopped, placing a hand over his chest to steady himself. "You scared the shit out of me." Hanzo crossed his arms. "Judging from the lack of a certain smell, I don't think I did." Kuai's jaw fell open before he threw his head back and roared with laughter. "You... you just... Oh my Elder Gods," he wheezed. Hanzo couldn't help himself as he chuckled along. "You finally made a decent joke. Never thought I would live to see the day," Kuai gasped out, wiping his eyes. Hanzo frowned. "You didn't answer my question." 

Kuai looked up. It was unfair that Hanzo had a height advantage over him. Not that it was noticeable, but it was definitely there. "Actually, everything's fine now. I was struggling with the way that I had been teaching Frost. I thought that if I had done something different, she wouldn't have been this power-hungry." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But, I've come to terms that there was nothing I could have done. She forged her own path." 

Hanzo shuffled awkwardly in his stance.  _Now or never, Hasashi._ "Kuai,... I-"

A cracking sound followed by a flash of light sounded next to them, and when they could open their eyes again, Raiden stood there in his full glory, arms crossed. He smiled gently at the two. "Hello, Hanzo and Kuai. I have a request of you, Lin Kuei Grandmaster." The slightly shorter man bowed in respect. "What do you require of me?" The god sighed. He sounded tired. "I have been overseeing the progress of the Special Forces' reconstruction, and I am worried. Johnny and Sonya are being driven apart more and more with each passing day. Jax is worried about his wife, and the four young children are stressed. I want them to take a break, and send Jax to his wife, Vera."

Kuai's eyes narrowed. "Is this going where I think it is?" Raiden nodded. "I will have your students train with me at the White Lotus for a week. In this time with the empty temple, I want you to help Sonya and Johnny. Kenshi will be coming, as well as Cassie Cage and her friends." Kuai sighed, rubbing his face. "Raiden, students I can handle. Adults with relationship issues and teenagers with increasing hormones? It's like you pulled me out of the shallow side of the pool and are dumping me in the deep end. We've already done this once before; I do not want a repeat of a catastrophe." 

"Please, Kuai. This is for Johnny. He's been under the weather recently. I'm worried about his mental health." Kuai groaned. "Fine. But I can already tell that I'm going to regret this."

* * *

 

"This has happened before?" Hanzo asked worriedly. 

Kuai didn't reply. "What did I just agree to?" he groaned.


	7. The Worst (Best) Sleepover You Could Ask For

As it turned out, Kuai didn't get the chance to warn his brother or childhood friend about the sudden news update.

Apparently, Raiden had already herded the Lin Kuei students into a portal leading to the White Lotus, claiming it was "Grandmaster Liang's orders". So, only four people were in the Lin Kuei Temple. Kuai facepalmed when he found out. 

The second tipping point happened when Kenshi burst through the doors, running to Kuai. He held up his hands. "I am  _so_ sorry." Kuai didn't get a chance to ask the telekinetic swordsman, because the doors slammed open again, the sounds of clear arguing following. Sonya was shouting at Johnny, who angrily retorted something back occasionally. Takeda was trying to lessen the stress of the atmosphere by chatting with Cassie as they walked down, but anyone could easily see how unhappy she was. Jacqui lagged in the back, Jax surprisingly with her as well as another woman.  _His wife, I'd assume._ Hanzo eyed everyone and tried to survey through the chaos. 

Tomas looked at Kuai. "What the fuck is going on?"

Kuai stared deadly ahead, shoulders slumped. Very slowly, he lifted his right arm, slapping his hand on his face and leaving it covering his eyes and nose.

The sound rang out, and everyone actually stopped to look. Kuai, who still had his eyes covered, muttered something under his breath before removing it and looking up with a painfully forced smile. "Hello, everyone. I hope you all had a safe journey?" The unidentified woman stepped forwards. "We did, thank you. My name is Vera. Jax didn't want to leave our daughter by herself, and quite frankly, neither did I. I hope you have room." Kuai nodded. "Of course." Sonya frowned. "Who are they?"

Kuai turned to look at Bi-Han and Tomas at his side. "Smoke and my brother, Bi-Han." Johnny rolled his eyes. "That's what I was saying. But she doesn't believe me, does she? Thinks I'm always lying to her." Jax sighed. "Johnny, please. Just be a man for once and take it." Kuai winced while Johnny's eyes widened in anger. "Take it? TAKE IT?! I've been 'taking it' for sixteen fucking years. Don't tell me when to 'take it', Jax." The metal-armed man stepped forwards. "Do you want to die, Cage?" 

"ENOUGH!!!"

Kuai looked like he was about to blow. His arms were glowing with a blue light, mist falling to the ground while his muscles flexed. "I don't have the time for anyone's BULLSHIT. Go to your FUCKING ROOMS, and let me SLEEP. I've dealt with ENOUGH today; I do not need your CHILDISH ANTICS PISSING ME OFF!" Kenshi waved his hand. Kuai's composure changed completely after the telepathic man's motion. He shut his eyes tightly, sighing.

Opening them again, he looked tired. "You take care of this shit," Kuai said, walking by Bi-Han as he walked to the dorms. Bi-Han's expression changed from surprised to anger to sullen brooding. He crossed his arms in a familiar fashion, glaring at the newcomers. "This way, assholes."

* * *

With the entire Lin Kuei staff gone, Hanzo slept in his own room but found quickly that sleeping was near impossible. As he tossed in the covers, he thought back to how frustrated Kuai had been earlier.  _Not that I'd blame him. If I were in his shoes, I would be killing them in a blink._ As he thought about how Kuai must be feeling, he felt guilty.  _What if he needs someone's presence beside him? Should I go and comfort him?_

This only caused him to feel more restless, and at last, he threw off the covers and walked out into the cold hallway. The torches on the sides of the walls only barely illuminated the way to Kuai's door, and as he went to knock gently, he found that the door was unlocked. Hanzo carefully turned the doorknob, creeping inside and closing the door gently behind him, locking it. He stopped with a start when he saw Kuai laying on the side of the bed near the window. He was curled in a defensive ball on that side of the bed. Hanzo sighed.  _This was a bad idea. No turning back now._ He got on the other side of the bed (not that he minded; he liked the side far away from the window, anyway) and pulled the blanket over him, making sure not to disturb the bed's other occupant.

After he had settled, Kuai muttered something in his sleep, sighing in comfort and relaxing. Hanzo smiled gently, relaxing as he was finally able to drift off to sleep.

* * *

When Kuai opened his eyes from a dreamless night, he blinked wearily.  _Just five more minutes._ He ignored the sun shining from the window into his eyes. He was about to drift off again, with the warm heat calling him back, but it was that exact heat that gave him pause. "Wha-" Kuai groaned, blinking the sun out of his eyes and turning to see Hanzo laying next to him. He shouted, falling off the edge in panic. Hanzo then woke up at the sudden noise, sitting up abruptly and looking around. He looked down at Kuai, who stood back on his feet. After a minute, "Can we just appreciate the fact that you and I completely switched sides from that morning in the apartment when I fell on the ground and you were startled in the bed?" Hanzo noted.

"Haha," Kuai bit sarcastically. "It's so funny. What the fuck were you doing in my bed?" At Hanzo's hesitant face, Kuai cursed himself for the use of harsh words. "I'm sorry. I was only startled by your sudden appearance." Hanzo shook his head. "It is fine. To answer, I couldn't sleep last night, because of the thought of how upset you were kept crossing my mind. I thought that if I were to offer you comfort, you would be more relaxed." Kuai chuckled. "Well, I can't say that it didn't work. Thank you, Hanzo." 

The Shirai Ryu scratched the back of his neck, red starting to creep up his face. "It... it was nothing." 

Kuai groaned, stretching. "Well, I had just forgotten about our unwanted guests, but that unpleasant thought hit my head like a sledgehammer. Well, I'm going to get dressed and prepare breakfast. I'll see you downstairs." Hanzo nodded, Kuai leaving the room shortly. He got up and donned his own clothes, about to walk out of the room when something gave him pause. He stared at the way the bright sunlight reflected off the ground. He only noticed it now, but the pale blue tiles that were on the ground resembled ice, and captured its natural beauty as the light from the sun made them sparkle. He smirked.  _Kuai would do that._

He walked down the stairs, seeing Bi-Han sitting at the table with a large mug of coffee and a grumpy face. He looked up. "Look who it is." Hanzo shook his head. "You look horrible." Bi-Han pretended to look surprised. "Who, me? Why would I be? I've only dealt with the worst demons to have ever existed in the Netherrealm, but they weren't demons." Hanzo sighed. "I'm sorry. They're usually better than this. Where is Kuai?" Bi-Han motioned with his head to the door behind him.

Hanzo walked through the doorway, jumping slightly at the sight he saw. Kuai was muttering, measuring flour in a measuring cup as he looked at a book. His glasses were high up his nose, the sunlight reflecting off them. Hanzo shook his head, shaking himself from his state of stupor. "Hey, Kuai." The cryomancer didn't reply, but later stated an "Hmm?" Hanzo walked forwards slowly. "Do you need any help?" Kuai looked up. "Actually, yes. Could you wash your hands and get the eggs out?" Hanzo did as he was told, opening the carton. "So, how did you learn to cook?" 

Kuai looked up. "Would you believe me if I told you that I was just a natural?" Hanzo crossed his arms, raising a brow. Kuai sighed, smirking as he said, "I was placed in the kitchens a lot to mop the floors as punishment from the old Grandmaster. I picked up on a few things." Hanzo shook his head. "You know, if I was Scorpion and listening to you tell this story, I would have been shellshocked at how irresponsible you were." 

"Are," Kuai corrected. Hanzo rolled his eyes, playing along. "Right. My mistake." Kuai chuckled, dumping the flour in the mixing bowl as Hanzo cracked eggs. "I hate to ask this of you, but could you go and try to wake up the others? You could start with Tomas first," Kuai stated. Hanzo sighed. "I swear to the Elder Gods, if I have to break up a fight, I'm also going to be breaking a bone with my fist." Kuai snorted. "If it does happen, land another hit in there for my sake?"

Hanzo decided to take Kuai's advice, knocking on Tomas's door. He opened it, already dressed but still sleepy. "It's already morning?" Hanzo looked at him, horrified. "Are you dead?"

Tomas blinked, eyelids half-opened. "This had nothing to do with Johnny and Sonya arguing from adjacent rooms. One of which is next to mine. Nothing at all." Hanzo shook his head. "Raiden was right. We have to stop this somehow." The grey assassin snorted. "How? Lock them up in a closet together until they fuck? Fuck that, I'm just going to do that to Kuai and some other lucky girl." Hanzo shrugged. "Before you do that, help me out?"

* * *

Kenshi sighed, surveying the problem; rather problems, around him. Sonya and Johnny were at it again, Jax eventually moving to sit between the two to prevent disaster from breaking out. Cassie was on edge (for good reason), ready to bolt at the first punch thrown as Jacqui and Takeda tried to comfort her. Kung Jin just watched everything with slight amusement. Turning the other direction, Kenshi studied the Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu.

Tomas was already turning red in the face from barely-concealed rage, whereas Bi-Han maintained a cool composure (though Kenshi could detect the metallic presence of a knife under the table. A big one). Hanzo sat close to Kuai, talking to him inaudibly to try and help the Grandmaster relax. Kenshi stood up and walked to Kuai, bending down and whispering to him and Hanzo, "If we are going to fix this, we need to get them to do activities that will help them bond." Kuai nodded. "That's reasonable. What do you suggest?" Kenshi was about to say something when Kung Jin finally piped up over the rest of the noise.

"Who's up for a game of Truth or Dare?" 

At this, Cassie's shoulders slumped in relief of an excuse to go somewhere else. "I'll go." She stood up, Jacqui and Takeda following her quickly. Kuai shrugged. "Guess I'll just make it mandatory." Hanzo looked at him in disbelief. "Are you serious? Truth or Dare? I've known that game to cause more hate between people than anything else." Kuai made a noise indicating that he didn't care. "Doesn't matter. At least it's a start. What? You're going too!"

* * *

"This is the worst idea, ever." Bi-Han growled, arms crossing again in their usual position.

"I second that," Johnny added, to which Sonya said, "Well, no one asked your opinion, dumbass." Kuai stood up quickly. "If anyone talks about anything other than the goddamned game, I swear to the Elder Gods that I'll leave you stranded in the Arctika wilderness by yourself." Johnny opened his mouth, hoping that he would be able to flee, when Kuai glared at him, adding, "Naked, Johnny." That shut him up quickly.

"Right. Rules are standard. If any degrading comment sounds off, I'll do the thing I just told you I would. Let's just have a nice and relaxing game. Without punching, preferably." He sat back down in the chair, arms crossed in a mirror image of his brother. Kung Jin cleared his throat. "Right. So, since I suggested the game first, I'll go first. Jacqui, truth or dare?" She tensed up, thinking about her choice while also looking at Jax. "Umm, truth?" Jin smirked. "Does Jax know that you and Takeda are, you know, doing it?"

Jacqui's face flushed red. "That's not... we aren't... UGH! We are DATING, Jin! And no, he doesn't." Jax was glaring at a sweating Takeda, mouthing,  _"You're dead."_ Kenshi spoke up, not moving. "Jax, if you are threatening my son, you are also threatening me as well. And I will fight back." Takeda shot his father a grateful look as Jax looked away sullenly. Hanzo shook his head.  _This is already going so well._ Jacqui exhaled deeply. "Alright, let's see... Grandmaster Liang, truth or dare?" Kuai chuckled. "Please, coming from you makes me sound so old. It's Kuai here." He looked at Tomas, who had a wicked grin on his face. "I'll pick... truth." Tomas groaned. "Why the sissy response?" 

"What was the most embarrassing thing that you've ever done?" Jacqui asked. Cassie leaned in closer, nervousness gone. Kuai sighed. "Actually, about a month ago, something happened that I will never live down. It was during the night, and you know how dark it can get in the hallways. I was starting to adjust to the layout of the temple when I had come inside from standing outside in the cold. I was trying to go to my room, but it was dark, and I need my glasses to see in the dark." Takeda looked up. "You wear glasses? Bullshit." Tomas leaned forwards. "Nope. I've seen them. Dorky as hell." 

Kuai glared at him. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I was walking blind. I decided that walking in the direction of a light was the best option. Unfortunately, that light happened to be an open balcony window, and a guard stopped me from walking off the edge. Happy?" Tomas snickered. "Four eyes." Kuai narrowed his eyes. "Fine then, smartass. Truth or dare?" Tomas leaned back. "I'll take the dare." Kuai smirked. "I dare you to stand outside in the snow in your underwear for ten minutes." Tomas's face paled. "But... I could die! Do you know how cold it is?!" Kuai leaned back in his seat, content. "And no one would miss you." 

Vera looked around. "Is this normal?" Bi-Han snorted. "Are you kidding? We did this on Saturdays every time at seven. It was like a goddamned tradition or something. Trust me, they'll only get worse as it goes along." 

After the respected time, Tomas walked stiffly to his seat, clothed with a sweatshirt and a heat pack in both hands, sitting down. "Kuai. Truth or dare?" Jax frowned. "You can't do that." Kenshi shushed him. He was starting to like where this was going. Kuai leaned forwards in challenge. "Dare." Tomas grinned widely. "Go get your glasses and wear them for the rest of the game." Kuai shrugged. "Fine. But I'll let you know, that was weak, especially for you." He shortly returned, Hanzo thanking Tomas in his mind. Vera smiled at him. "I didn't think you to be the person that would look cute in glasses." Jax frowned. "Excuse me?" Kuai chuckled. "Thank you." He looked directly at Kenshi through the frames. 

"Don't you do it."

"Truth or dare, Kenshi?"

"You dick," Kenshi said, without the heat behind it. "I'll do truth."

"If there were only two people alive on the world, one of them being you, who would you want the other person to be?" Kenshi smiled. "That's a good question. One that I have a split opinion on. I would have to pick either between Suchin or Takeda, but I find that near impossible." Takeda smiled at his father, who nodded back at him. "Right. Johnny?" The ex-actor looked up. "I'll take the truth." 

"How many people have you been with since your breakup?" Johnny leaned back. "Easy question, easy answer. Exactly zero. None. Zip." Sonya looked at him with an expression other than anger or disgust before looking away. "Kuai?" 

The cryomancer groaned. "Goddammit, Cage. Pick someone else." He shook his head. "Nope. Too late. Pick." Kuai sighed. "I'll do the dare this time, but this is the fucking last time." 

"Kiss the best-looking person in this room."

"OHHH!" Tomas called out. "Kuai, you know who it is." Bi-Han snorted at his response. "Yeah. Not you." Kenshi smirked, talking to Kuai alone telepathically, "Just do it." Kuai still stared at Johnny before chucking. "You know, I thought that you were going to give me a hard task to do, but this is ridiculously easy." Johnny was caught off guard before a smirk plastered on his face. "Well then, what are you waiting for?" Kuai shrugged, getting up and walking around the circle of seats. He walked to the right were Bi-Han had been sitting next to him, walking past every person before coming to stop to the seat on the left of his chair.

As he had walked by every person, the women were excited and then disappointed as he came up and then passed them. The chair to the left of his own where he stopped happened to be where Hanzo was sitting. He looked up confused. "What are you doing? You went all the way around - " Kuai bent his head down, placing a quick peck on the tip of Hanzo's nose. He then walked to his seat, sitting down quickly, smirking at the confused and shocked faces around the circle. "Right. Kenshi?" Hanzo didn't hear what the man's response was. His face was flushed red, eyes still open wide with shock.

* * *

"What the fuck was that?"

The game had finished, everyone leaving to their own activities. Hanzo had followed Kuai to his room, confronting him in the privacy of the large area. Kuai frowned. "What?" Hanzo waved wildly with his hand. "You know! That..." Kuai understood. "Oh, that? I did what Johnny told me to do. I kissed the person I thought was the cutest in the room. Quite frankly, to be honest, probably the entire world." He went to fix the ruffled blanket, Hanzo feeling the blush returning like a vengeful ghost. "... Shut up. Why would you do that?"

Kuai stopped, looking up. He stared into Hanzo's eyes, never blinking. "I told you. I kissed the cutest person in the room. But to me, he's the cutest person in the world." Hanzo threw his hands in the air, frustrated. "Fuck it." He went to the door, opening it and slamming it shut behind him.

Hanzo punched the wall angrily. Kuai's words were still ringing in his ears. He breathed calmly, thinking to himself rationally.  _If this isn't just another joke to him... I might have hurt his feelings._  He started to walk away from the door. _Damn it, I have to go and apologize._  Shoving all doubt aside, he opened the door wide open again, slamming it shut behind it and locking it. Kuai, who was sitting on the foot of his bed looked up and started to get up in surprise. "Hanzo? Back already?"

Hanzo looked down at Kuai who was still sitting on the bed. Kuai, who was looking up in return, had a confused face, one that reminded Hanzo of an innocent puppy. He shut his eyes tightly, counting in his head.  _1... 2... 3..._

He suddenly grabbed Kuai by his vest and yanked him on his feet, Kuai letting out a noise of protest before it was cut off when Hanzo kissed him full on the lips. Kuai jolted slightly in surprise, his hands on Hanzo's arms before he melted into the kiss and moved them to his back. Hanzo eventually broke it, recovering air and looking down at Kuai. "I couldn't tell if you were joking or not," he said breathlessly.

Kuai stared up at him before gently laughing, sitting down again. He pulled Hanzo down to the bed next to him, sitting him down. "Guess I should stop joking all the time and start taking things seriously, huh?" Hanzo gripped his wrist. "Don't you fucking dare." Kuai laughed louder, and Hanzo quickly joined in, the two leaning on each other in a way that suggested they had done it many times before.

* * *

Hanzo opened his eyes blearily, looking down at the source of the weight on his chest. He and Kuai had fallen asleep, not bothering to pull the blanket over them. Kuai had curled into a ball against Hanzo's body, his head on Hanzo's chest and sleeping peacefully. Hanzo smiled gently. He placed a hand gently on Kuai's shoulder, softly waking up the man. "Hey, wake up." Kuai shook his head, burying his face deeper into Hanzo's chest.

"Five more minutes," he said, muffled. Hanzo laughed quietly. "We don't have five minutes. Someone's making dinner right now, and you have to make sure that nothing gets burnt to the ground again." Kuai shifted, looking up at Hanzo. "I hate them all with a burning passion." He sat up on the edge of the bed, stretching lazily before going to open the door. After Hanzo gave him some time to walk a good distance to the kitchen, he got up then, going to the dining area.

He met Kenshi there, the blind swordsman tilting his head up in acknowledgement. "Hanzo. Good job." The Shirai Ryu looked confused before his face started to heat up. "You know about that?" Kenshi motioned to the seat beside him, which Hanzo took. "I could sense how happy Kuai was when he walked through here. I'm glad for the both of you." He had a smile on his face as he told Hanzo this. 

Hanzo smiled as well, looking down to his feet. "I'm glad that I didn't wait for any longer after that. It's just hard for me to see myself living without him." Kenshi chuckled. "Love tends to do that to us."

Johnny walked in, slumping in the chair on the other side of Kenshi. "Today was excessively long. I can't believe that it's only been a day." Kenshi placed a hand on his shoulder. "Things will get better as the week progresses. Just relax." Tomas threw the door open, a shaken look on his face. He sat down as far away from Hanzo as he could. After an awkward pause of silence, he looked up at the other three. "Did you know that Kuai was gay?"

"He's bi, actually," Johnny corrected. "And yeah, we did." Tomas rubbed his face with his hands. "Things like this make me believe that I've never known him at all. I thought that I had him pegged down before I died, but after I was freed from my revenant state, he seems like a completely different person." Kenshi smiled sympathetically. "Things have changed since your absence. Kuai has gained more confidence and now isn't afraid to voice his opinions. Take this week to get to know him as he is now."

As soon as these words had been thrown out, Bi-Han strolled in, sitting down next to Hanzo surprisingly. He turned to look at him. "Look. I have known for a while that my younger brother has taken an interest in you. I know that he can make his own decisions for himself, and I don't judge him for who he is. But to make one thing clear, and listen closely," he seized Hanzo's wrist and slammed it on the table, Hanzo glaring at him. "If you do something that causes him to run to me, you'll find yourself in a grave, either breathing or not. Understood?" Hanzo continued to glare at him, but could see what the other man was trying to say and chose to nod.

Bi-Han let go, leaning back in his chair. "If there's something that speaks out to me as a good starting point, it's the fact that you've lost your irrational sense of anger." Hanzo snorted. He could definitely agree with him on that.

Johnny shook his head. "I thought he was going to peck me on the cheek." Kenshi barked shortly with laughter. "You? Please." Johnny's head snapped in his direction. "Can we also talk about how Kuai kissed Hanzo? I had no idea that they were that close already. If I had known, I would have tried to play matchmaker for them." Kenshi sighed. "Let's thank the Elder Gods that Johnny was so blind as to not notice this and ruin it." Tomas laughed at that.

Jax and entered the room, sitting next to each other beside Johnny. "So, what have y'all been talking about?" Jax asked, lighting his cigar. 

"Vera's making dinner and Cassie and her friends have already eaten. Sonya's already eaten, too. Guess she doesn't want to eat with us, or rather, me," Johnny piped up. He looked depressed, and Hanzo couldn't help but feel bad for him. Sympathetic looks were strewn about the table. 

Kuai left the kitchen, joining the others. "Dinner's almost ready," he informed them. Johnny grinned at his arrival. "So, when's the wedding?" Kuai wasn't angry; he laughed. "In a month. But you're not invited." He moved between Hanzo and Bi-Han, looking down at his seated older brother. "Move." Bi-Han raised a brow, looking up slightly. "Excuse me?" Kuai rolled his eyes. "Are we really going to be doing this? You heard me the first time. MOVE." Tomas groaned. "Guys, please don't." Bi-Han ignored him, smirking lightly and getting ready to leap out of his seat. "Make me, dumbass."

Kuai looked around at the other onlookers, sighing. "Fuck it." He threw Bi-Han on the table, people jumping out of their seats as Kuai jumped up, wrestling Bi-Han. They tussled for a while before Bi-Han had Kuai's arms restrained and a foot on his chest. "I win," he said smugly. Kuai spat at him, but not with any true anger behind it. Tomas groaned. "Is it over? Thank god, they'd sometimes do this for hours before someone would emerge victorious." 

Bi-Han sat in his seat, Kuai glaring at him. He instead walked to Hanzo, pulling his chair back and sitting in his lap. Johnny snickered. "I guess you still win." Hanzo shook his head, a smile gracing his face. Beside him, Bi-Han groaned. "Forget it, this isn't worth it. I'm moving." He got up and left, sitting next to Tomas. Kuai still didn't move. "You can move now," Hanzo said, nudging Kuai. He turned around slightly. "Why? I'm very comfortable here." Hanzo sighed. "For one, I have to eat, too." Kuai pouted, moving to sit in the empty chair beside Hanzo.

When the food had been dispersed, the group started to chat amiably between themselves. "Say, Kuai, when did you find out that you were, you know," Tomas gestured awkwardly with his hand. Bi-Han elbowed him while Jax said, "Why would you ask that?" Kuai swallowed, laughing. "How did I find out I was bi? Well, it was more of a gradual thing. I think it had something to do with being surrounded by men in the Lin Kuei my entire childhood. But, over time, I noticed that I felt the same level of attraction to women as I did to men. I thought I was going crazy, but I eventually accepted it for who I was."

Johnny snorted. "Kenshi and I were on a mission when we met Kuai at the area already strangling some guy. We kind of hung out and kept in touch after that. As time went on, I was kind of on edge with how open he was. I thought it was so weird that he was acting like, well, me." Kenshi smirked. "We did some crazy shit of our own. Actually, Kuai goaded us into doing most of it." Tomas nodded fervently. "EXACTLY! Everyone thinks that he's the goody-two-shoes, but he is SO NOT. And he just makes you do the stupidest shit." Johnny laughed. "I remember that one time he somehow convinced us to spend the entire night toilet-papering the Special Forces base because Sonya didn't tell him something, I forgot."

"So he manages to console us that we won't get caught, and when we're waiting for him outside to let him in, he comes in with a huge fucking Santa Claus sack, and it's full of toilet paper. I get really nervous and ask him if we need that much, and you know what he says? That son of a bitch blinks innocently and says, 'This is only the first bag.'"

Kenshi was laughing as Jax snorted at the words. Johnny continued, tears streaming down his face and gasping for air. "And... and then... so we go and do a pretty good job covering the base. But we still have so much paper left, and as we go to leave, Kuai stops us and tell us that we weren't done. His exact words were, 'I want this goddamned place to look like it's in Arctika. Everything needs to be covered in white. Every space, every crevice. EVERYTHING.' And he... he says this with such force that Kenshi and I were scared into doing it!" Kenshi fell to the ground, clutching at his stomach as he tried to gasp for air. Tomas was engrossed in the story, envisioning every detail while Vera looked amused. 

"So we spend the rest of the night doing just that, and we don't get a wink of sleep. But I will admit, it was worth it. The look on Sonya's face was too good to pass up. It took weeks to take everything down," Johnny finished. Kuai smirked, elbow on the table and a hand supporting his head. "Does she know that I was a part of it?" Johnny laughed louder, shaking his head. "NO!" He fell to the ground, hysterical laughter filling the room. Hanzo chuckled, shaking his head as he took in the laughter, the story, and Kuai's smug grin.

"That's why the toilet paper was there?"

Jacqui stood in the doorway with Takeda and Kung Jin behind her. "Cassie's asleep. Getting rest." Johnny nodded. "Good for her. And yes, that's why." Tomas swallowed back his laughter, still chuckling as he said, "He just has this calming effect over you and it seems like you can do the impossible. Like sneaking a newt in the Grandmaster's cloak." At this, a clamor rose up to hear the story, and Tomas obliged. 

* * *

"I find it amusing how irresponsible you really are, despite your innocent looks," Hanzo said, laying down.

Kuai looked up. "I'm glad that someone finds humor in my antics," he said in response, smirking. Hanzo wrapped his arms around Kuai, the man snuggling close to Hanzo. "Good night, Hanzo," he said, yawning. As an afterthought, Kuai added, "Love you. For real; not a joke, just to clarify." Hanzo rolled his eyes. He had always felt like himself when Kuai was near. "You too." Kuai looked up sleepily. "You didn't say it back." Hanzo sighed, grinning anyways. "I love you too." Kuai smiled.

"Needed you to say it. It's the only way I know that this isn't a dream. You wouldn't say it if this were a dream," Kuai said, relaxing and dosing off. Hanzo smiled, leaning to kiss Kuai gently on his forehead. Kuai smiled in his sleep. _Cute,_ Hanzo thought, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep, the two holding each other as they slept and dreamt pleasant dreams.


	8. New Day, New Mind

"You know what? We should have a contest," Tomas butted in.

The younger kombatants' heads perked up at the word, "contest", while around the table there were voices of protest. "Fuck no. We know how well that went last time," Johnny said. Jax shook his head. "Worst week of my fucking life." Bi-Han sighed, turning to his younger brother. "This has happened before?"

_"So, this is great. I love the view of Jax ass in my face."_

_Johnny dangled in the air, a good 250 feet above the rocks in the water below them. Slightly above him was Jax, Johnny holding onto him for support to prevent him from falling. Above Jax was Sonya, then Kenshi, who was holding onto the ledge. On the solid ground was Kuai, holding on Kenshi's hand and trying uselessly to pull everyone up. He also was talking non-stop worriedly._

_"Oh my god, I'm so fucking sorry! You were right, this was a stupid idea. Should I get Raiden? I probably should. But I can't let go of Kenshi. Shit!"_

Tomas cackled in delight. "Exactly! You were all depending on each other to not let go and fall! Perfect team-building exercise!" 

"What part of 'falling to our deaths' did you not get the first time?" Kenshi inquired. Bi-Han shrugged. "Maybe if we did it in groups of two. Like, we'll have to do some things every day, and whoever does the things the most efficiently wins... something." Kung Jin sighed. "This is stupid. Why can't we do something that normal people do?"

* * *

"What the hell is this supposed to be, Kuai?"

"This was the obstacle course meant for the more advanced students. It shouldn't be that difficult for us," he explained. Takeda looked at the moving contraption worriedly. There were traps and flying objects that could end up in serious bruising. "How easy?"

"It doesn't matter. Every person will take their time going through. If you don't make it all the way to the end, you are disqualified. If both people on your team get across, your times are added. The group with the lowest score wins. Simple," Bi-Han stated bluntly.

Vera watched worriedly from the side. Johnny and Sonya were paired up, as expected, to get over their feud. Jax paired with Kenshi, and Cassie was with Jacqui. Takeda was paired with Jin, who grumbled about doing the entire thing. Bi-Han paired up with a hyperactive Tomas, leaving Kuai to be paired with Hanzo. He leaned in closer to Hanzo, whispering in his ear, "You see that last part? It's supposed to be impossible. The only way you can get through it is to just run at it without hesitation as soon as your feet hit the floor. If you stand for too long waiting, then it'll trigger the trap to become solid. Only when you run straight at it will it be transparent."

Hanzo looked down at Kuai, a look of disapproval on his face. "You are a very bad person." Kuai leaned back, winking. "That's what everyone says in bed." Hanzo full out laughed. Kuai's eyes widened slightly before looking away. "What?" Hanzo asked. "You have a cute laugh," Kuai admitted. Hanzo's face flushed, both looking to see Jacqui getting ready to go first. 

The game progressed, people getting knocked off left and right. No one had yet completed the course. Kenshi had made it to the final obstacle, but hesitated and frowned at its complexity. His hesitation resulted in his elimination as well. Hanzo stepped up, loosening his arms.  _Don't hesitate at the end._ The beginning was relatively easy to track the patterns and avoid but grew slowly to be more complex. However, despite it all, he saw himself before the final challenge of the course. He propelled himself through the swinging beam, and as soon as his feet touched the floor, he sprinted at the complex contraction, jumping at the last second, and rolled at the end. 

He looked up at the time. Two minutes and fourteen seconds. He had spent a lot of his time on the earlier barriers, making sure he didn't lose his footing. He had been the first to go for the last group that was still in the race, and he walked back to watch Kuai go off. "How the hell did you do that?" Johnny asked. Hanzo shrugged. "I just didn't think about that last one." He had to admit, it was good having an advantage over the others, but at least he told them the truth, somewhat.

Kuai tilted his head to both sides, the popping noises audible. He stretched lazily, Hanzo's throat becoming dry. Kuai shook off his sweatshirt, wearing another simple plain blue t-shirt. He looked up at his audience, smirking and aiming a finger gun cockily. "It's all in the feet, boys and girls." The initial buzzer sounded, and he started in a dashing sprint. Hanzo almost gasped along with the others at the sudden start.  _Is he trying to get eliminated?_ But at the first obstacle, Kuai was able to get his hands on the ground and somersault himself through the gap, landing on his feet and running again without losing a beat.

He side-stepped another obstacle that Hanzo didn't think was possible, and at the open section where you needed to either climb on a tightrope to pass or jump on a rope halfway through the gap and swing across it easily, Kuai sprinted for the faster option that no one else had taken, grabbing the rope and propelling himself to the other side. He jumped horizontally over the last hurdle, sprinting towards the final barrier. True to his word, it became transparent and allowed him to reach the other end. Everyone looked up to the time board. One minute and forty-three seconds.

Kuai frowned in disappointment. "Damn. So close."

"What do you mean, 'so close'?" Johnny shouted incredulously. "What the fuck was that? I thought you were getting old!" Kuai crossed his arms. "I am getting old. You can clearly see that time, right? I could have done this in like, forty-eight seconds." Hanzo covered his face with both hands to stifle his laughter. Tomas laughed loudly beside him. "You goddamned rebel." Kuai snorted, grinning. "Come on, we can both admit that we were definitely more rebellious when we were younger. This was nothing."

* * *

"Okay! After that fucking disaster, time for something more non-biased." Tomas announced. "This is a scavenger hunt. All across the snow-covered forest, we have placed items. Your team only needs to bring your designated item and return here before the sun sets. However, you can also grab other groups' items to sabotage them. For those groups whose items have been stolen, you can get them back by 'tagging' them. If you are tagged, you must drop the other group's item, but you keep yours. They can grab their item, and you both part ways. Understood?"

Kuai pulled Hanzo to the side. "Here. I got this from the armory." He presented a white cloak. "We use these on our patrols to blend in. I'm pretty sure they'll be useful." Hanzo shook his head. "You are dead intent on beating everyone, aren't you?" Kuai smirked, wrapping the white cloth around him. "I live, eat, and breathe competition."

Their item was a red teddy bear, Hanzo noted, looking around at his surroundings. He frowned when he noticed something red pinned on a tree. Walking over to it, his hope was quenched when he realized it was a red bow tie.  _I can still grab it to stop the others._ He untied it, wrapping it around his waist and covering it with his cloak. He continued on his way cautiously, the snow crunching under his feet. 

He jumped when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Acting on instinct, he tackled the other person, sitting on their lap. Kuai groaned, rubbing the back of his head which had been cushioned by the snow. "Jeez! What the hell happened to you?" Hanzo frowned. "You could have just talked to me instead of tapping me on the shoulder! I thought you were someone else!" Kuai lifted his hands in surrender. "Fine. I'm sorry. Could you stop straddling me now? While I love the idea of you being my early Christmas present..." he looked pointedly at the ribbon on Hanzo's waist.

Hanzo could feel his face turn red again.  _I really need to build somewhat of a tolerance against this._ " I just found someone's item and decided to take it. What about you?" he asked, rubbing in the comment a little smugly. However, Kuai didn't seem to be fazed by it. Instead, his eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Oh! So you found the last one!" Hanzo's grin faltered. "What do you mean 'last one'?" Kuai took off his backpack from under his cloak, unzipping it to show the red bear, along with a green toy bird, a blue toy fish, a yellow plastic star, and a purple plastic flower. Hanzo stared. "How the hell... you know what? I'm not going to ask."

They both got up, walking back to the entrance of the forest. "So, why tie the thing around your waist?" Kuai asked casually. Hanzo sighed. "I didn't want to show anyone I had their item.  Because I didn't have a bag like yours, I just decided to tie it around my waist. Happy?" Kuai chuckled. "You know, I wasn't kidding about what I said earlier. You would make the best present." Hanzo stared down at him, astonished. He didn't have time to react to Kuai leaned forwards to kiss him.

In that time, Hanzo disregarded his entire surroundings. All that really mattered was Kuai, in his arms, with his childish but adoring mannerisms and heart of gold. Kuai finally broke away, recovering air, panting slightly and looking up at Hanzo with his pale eyes. Both of their faces then adopted silly grins, Hanzo adopting a sudden surge of courage and affection, grabbing Kuai's hand and saying, "Come on. We do have a competition to win, don't we?"

* * *

"I don't fucking understand. How the hell did you manage to get all of them under our noses?" Jax snapped. He shook off snow from his shoulders. Kuai leaned against Hanzo comfortably. "As Johnny puts it, we're ninjas. I can't think of a better answer than that." Johnny shook his head, a huge smile on his face. "Fucking ninjas," he said, raising his hand for a high-five, which Kuai returned. "You look really happy, Johnny. Getting more comfortable with Sonya?" Sonya shook her head ruefully. "Actually, yeah. We talked a bit." Johnny nodded in confirmation, grinning. "I'm actually starting to think that this is a good weekend getaway after all."

Bi-Han, who had just returned with Tomas, walked up to Kuai and tackled him to the snow. Kuai yelped, wrestling playfully to get the bigger man off of him. "Come on, Bi-Han! It was just a game!" Bi-Han growled in pretend. "I spent my entire fucking day out there for nothing?" He put his hand in a fist and punched Kuai in the gut. Kuai gasped for air, Bi-Han getting up. "Oh, okay. I guess I deserved that," Kuai acknowledged. Hanzo stooped down, grabbing some snow and packing it. When it was the right shape and form, he threw it lazily at the back of Bi-Han's head. The kids gasped in shock, Bi-Han turning around slowly.

Kuai shook his head quickly. "I swear to the Elder Gods and on my life, it wasn't me." Bi-Han, however, stared menacingly at Hanzo, who had his best imitation of Kuai's innocent face. "What? I didn't do anything," Hanzo replied sweetly. Bi-Han chuckled, bending down to snatch some snow off the ground before standing up. "Your soaking hands suggest otherwise," he retorted playfully, throwing it at Hanzo. He dodged it, rolling on the ground and scooping up some snow and launching it in Bi-Han's general direction, hitting Sonya instead. She gasped in shock and rage before her look of astonishment turned to one of "you are going to get it now". 

Soon, the entire thing had turned into a free-for-all, everyone throwing snow at the other. Kuai, snow in his hair, laughed as Tomas slipped on a patch of ice, only to bend over, laughing harder when Johnny had tried to help him but ended up slipping too. While he was laughing gleefully, Hanzo tackled Kuai from behind, both of them going to the ground. Kuai gasped in fake-shock. "Scorpion, my old nemesis, risen from the grave again?" Hanzo played along, a full smile gracing his face. "It is I, pathetic mortal. Face my wrath!" Kuai was laughing so hard, he was gasping for air. "You have taken control over my best friend, comrade, and sweetheart, Hanzo Hasashi! Do not worry, honey. I will save you!"

Hanzo snorted at his words, Kuai swatting at his arms which were pinned by both sides of his head. "This wraith is really strong. But do not fear! I have the power to dispell the wraith and bring back my love!" Hanzo laughed, Kuai taking that chance to pull him by the neck of his uniform down for another kiss.

Hanzo could feel their teeth hit; a brief moment of pain before it melted into something a lot sweeter. "You were eating candy this morning, weren't you?" Kuai looked up, smiling gently. "Of course I did. Who would I be if I didn't?" Kenshi called from his side of the battlefield, "Hey, you two, get a room!" He had been telepathically forming snowballs by the hundreds and was pelting them at anyone who ventured too close.

Johnny then yelled from the opposite side after recovering, "No, let them be. Kuai's finally getting some of that ass, if you know what I mean." Kuai blushed, burying his face in Hanzo's chest. Hanzo laughed, getting up after disentangling himself from Kuai. 

* * *

Dinner that night was more friendly than last night.

Everyone was sitting there, chatting over the others happily. "Hey Kuai, remember that one time with the reoccurring graffiti on the west wing of the temple?" Bi-Han laughed loudly. "Oh my fucking god. It was going on for like, three weeks before he was caught." Kuai, who was invested in another book, hummed thoughtlessly before the words hit him. He looked up, eyes wide. "No. Oh my god. No." Tomas grinned at his friend's distress. Johnny frowned. "Wait. Did these words happen to be, 'Thots, Begone!', in red ink?" Bi-Han nodded. "Did he tell you already?" Kenshi interrupted. "Actually, in his time that he spent with us at the Special Forces base with Sonya away on a mission looking for Kano, this peculiar message had appeared on the west wing of the base. The cameras didn't catch the culprit, and we were left wondering who it was."

Kuai squirmed. "Yeah. That was me. Sorry." Tomas shook his head. "So, basically, Kuai had just finished serving his punishment for sneaking a cockroach in the old Grandmaster's robes, which is a story for another time. He was really mad, so as an act of rebellion, he snuck out at night and painted in big, red lettering, 'BEGONE, THOT!' He thought it was really funny, and the thing was, everyone was questioned, but the culprit wasn't found. After they painted over it, he went out again, painting the same message! So, the Grandmaster orders it to be painted over again, and he places a guard at that area, along with posting guards all over the base. They catch Kuai, and they drag him to the Grandmaster."

"The funniest thing about it all is how long it took them to find out," Bi-Han said. Hanzo grasped Kuai's hand, squeezing it. Kuai smiled, leaning his head against Hanzo's shoulder. "Whatever. I don't need any of you traitors. All I need in this cruel world is sitting next to me." Hanzo felt something constrict in his throat.  _He really cares about me._

This happy moment was rudely interrupted by a thunder god.

"Sub-Zero," Raiden said, entering the room in a blaze of light. "I apologize for the unannounced intrusion." Kuai groaned. "What is it now?" Raiden actually shuffled nervously. "I had an encounter with the Edenian Jade. Apparently, she has been successful in her attempts to revive our friends. The only thing is, well, she came to me and gave me a pile of once undead kombatants." 

From behind the thunder god, a familiar in green clothing emerged, a staff in her hands. "Hi, guys," Jade said softly, waving. And behind her, there was indeed, a pile of unconscious bodies.

Everyone got up to their feet in shock. Some went to crouch beside the ex-revenants, others just stood in shock. Hanzo stood beside a still-sitting Kuai. He looked down at the cryomancer. Kuai had a hand over his eyes, mumbling something. Hanzo felt a twinge of sympathy for him. "Kuai? Are you going to be fine?" Kuai slowly dragged his hand down his face. "Why? Why me?"

Raiden continued. "I expect them to behave as you did when you were revived, Sub-Zero. Help them gain their courage and strength." Kuai looked up at the god from his seat, a dead look on his face. Everyone's attention was on their conversation. "You gave me four plus one extra adults with four children struggling with their emotions to deal with only a few days ago. Despite all odds, I appear to have helped them. This, I could only barely do."

He finally stood up slowly. "Now, you literally could just go ahead and fuck me in the ass." Johnny fell into a coughing fit at those words. "How the hell am I going to deal with fucking six more unstable people!? I don't know what to fucking do! OKAY? I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO FUCKING DO!  _ **I THINK I'M GOING FUCKING INSANE!!!**_ " Kenshi leaned closer to a disturbed Bi-Han, whispering, "Stress."

Kuai, eyes blazing, hissed, pointing a finger at Kenshi. "Don't you fucking start. I could kill you fifteen different ways with my hands." Raiden sighed. "I guess this would be a bad time to mention that this will be going on for another month?" Kuai slouched, still standing, staring up at Raiden. "Please tell me this is a horrible dream." Raiden scratched the back of his head. "Umm, it isn't. But Fujin and I will be spending the time here as well." Kuai stared into the empty space for a good three minutes. "Is this normal?" Raiden asked nervously to the nearby Johnny. The ex-actor shrugged. "I guess. The man's been under a lot." Kenshi shook his head. "Stress."

Kuai snapped. 

In an instant, the room glowed in a blue light. When it had dimmed, the walls were covered in a sheet of ice, as well as the ground and ceiling. With an enraged shout, Kuai stormed out of the room. His eyes were glowing blue, arms covered in ice. "FUCK THIS SHIT. FUCK MY LIFE. FUCK... GOD DAMN!" He punched the temple doors, making a hole in the middle. "Kuai!" Tomas yelped. Kuai didn't listen, walking down the steps and standing in the courtyard that was covered in snow. At this point, everyone had walked outside, standing at the doors while Kuai stomped off to the opposite edge of the courtyard, looking like a very small figure throwing an adorable temper tantrum. 

From far away, the kombatants watched in shock as the usually calm and collected cryomancer punched a tree, all the snow falling from its branches and covering him. Kenshi snickered. "Hopefully, the snow will cool him down." 

With a roar of rage, the kombatants were covered in snow in the same predicament Kuai had been in. He stood in the courtyard that was no longer covered in snow; he had sent it all at them. They struggled to pull themselves out of the mess. "Hanzo, go calm down your boyfriend," Jax groaned. Hanzo glared at the metal-armed man, muttering curses as he left. (Raiden looked at Jax, confused. "Excuse me?")

Hanzo approached Kuai cautiously, who was sitting on the ground and hugging his knees. "Kuai? Are you alright?" The cryomancer looked up, tiredly. "I don't know." Hanzo sat down next to him. "You know that you're not alone, right? If you're struggling with anything, just tell us, alright?" Kuai nodded, sighing. "I don't know what's wrong with me. My control seems to be on a short fuse. All I'm worried about is when it'll go off again." Hanzo rubbed his back in comfort. "Everything will work itself out. When these idiots get out of here, everything will be back to usual again." Kuai smiled slightly. "Right."

"Idiots?" 

Hanzo and Kuai whipped around to see that the others had crept up on them, listening in on their conversation. "You guys are so cute together!" Cassie blurted out before she covered her mouth when she realized she said it aloud. Hanzo got up angrily but stopped in his path when he heard Kuai's laughter ringing through the clearing.

* * *

"The substance is working as intended, my lord." A female with cropped white hair stood beside a hulking figure. He grinned, the teeth fully visible due to the lack of a face. "Perfect. By the time the fool realizes what is happening to him, it will be too late. And you, my dear, will be free to take his Medallion, and with it, the Lin Kuei." Frost grinned maliciously. "I thank you, Lord Havik, for your generosity."

Havik leaned back in his throne in the Netherrealm, a content look on his face. "Soon," he muttered.


	9. Old Friends

When Kuai woke up the next morning, he clutched his head immediately.  _My head fucking hurts..._ The pain was throbbing from inside his skull; pushing against the bones. He got up shakily, making his way to the bathroom. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Kuai fell to the ground, vomiting in the toilet. He looked at himself blearily in the mirror after cleaning up.  _I must be really stressed. I'll be taking a long break after this._ He stretched, walking back into the bedroom where Hanzo was starting to stir.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Kuai smiled. Hanzo blinked through half-lidded eyes. "You look like shit." Kuai scoffed. "Yeah, and today will only get worse. Come on, get up. I need my _cuddle bear_ with me today."

Breakfast went by quickly, too quickly for Kuai's taste. After they had cleaned up and went to check on their unconscious guests, Kuai pleaded to the gods,  _Please, please be sleeping. I don't want to deal with all this drama._  His words, however, were sadly either unanswered or completely ignored. It seemed that all of the former revenants had recovered and were awake, while Sindel still slept soundly in the corner. Jade immediately went to Kitana's side, the Edenians hugging each other fiercely. Kung Jin knelt by his cousin's side, holding his hand tightly as if afraid that he would disappear. Nightwolf was chatting amiably with Kenshi about certain matters, and Kabal and Stryker were greeted enthusiastically by the Special Forces adults (while Cassie, Jacqui, and Takeda stood nearby the door awkwardly).

Kuai leaned in the doorway, uninterested and feeling extremely tired at that moment. He was shaken from his thoughts with a hand on his shoulder. Looking up suddenly, he blinked as Hanzo offered him the book he had left on the table earlier. "Here. You left this back there," he said. Kuai smiled back, taking the book gently. "Thank you," he said softly. Hanzo walked into the infirmary, watching the happy reunions. Meanwhile, Kuai opened his book to the marked page, picking up from his spot and walking away quietly. 

"So much happened!" Johnny's loud voice cutting through the crowd. Liu Kang smiled, grimacing slightly at the pain in his side. "That's great, Johnny. I'm sure you'll tell us everything. Where are we, anyway?" Kenshi, who was sitting in a chair, answered, "We are in the currently vacant Lin Kuei temple." Johnny nodded quickly. "Yeah. Oh, and speaking of change, I've got to introduce you to... where's Kuai?"

Jax immediately turned to Hanzo. "Where is he?" Hanzo shrugged. "Why should I know? I'm not his babysitter." Kitana raised a brow. "Who are you?" Jade turned to look at her childhood friend. "That's Hanzo Hasashi. He used to be Scorpion." Stryker frowned immediately. "What? Since when did he change sides?"

Bi-Han crossed his arms. "Does it really matter?" 

"Wait, so then who are you?" Kabal said, confused as hell. "Bi-Han, aka first Sub-Zero, aka Noob Saibot. As Johnny said, we have a lot to cover," Sonya said, uninterested. Liu Kang shook his head. "My head hurts."

Tomas spoke up then, "Wait, but where is Kuai? He was literally just here a moment ago!" 

Suddenly, a man stepped into the doorway, but it wasn't Kuai. Fujin smiled, looking at the room's inhabitants. "Hello, everyone." Kitana smiled. "Fujin! How are you?" The god of wind sighed. "It's been very busy. However, I could say that Sub-Zero has probably been more stressed than I have felt." Kenshi snickered. "Stress. It's always the culprit." Kung Lao looked up before shaking his head. "I think that I probably shouldn't ask."

Raiden stepped in behind Fujin, looking strained. He made eye-contact with Liu Kang. "Raiden?" Liu's eyes widened in surprise. "Liu Kang, I am truly sorry for what I did," Raiden started, but Liu Kang interrupted. "It was not your fault, Raiden. It was my foolishness along with your mistake that caused this. I am equally guilty as you were." 

Tomas groaned. "While this is touching and all, WHERE IS KUAI?!" Bi-Han elbowed him. "Shut up, idiot! You always ruin these things." Fujin raised a hand. "Sub-Zero is in the open hall. I believe he had a book with him." Liu Kang snorted. "A book? When did the Lin Kuei aspire to become intellectuals?" Fujin shrugged. "I'll go and get him." He disappeared in a gust of wind. Johnny frowned as soon as the god had left. "I was just going to tell Fujin that he probably shouldn't have done that."

"Why?" Kitana asked, interested and perking her head up. Kenshi snorted. "It's impossible to get him to put his book down. Once he starts reading, he becomes addicted. If he does put it down, he gets really pissy." Sonya shook her head, smiling. "I remember the time I first saw him after the tournament, I was totally taken aback. He's actually really sweet." Sounds of distinct arguing grew louder, and when Fujin entered the room, true to Kenshi's word, an upset cryomancer was tailing him. 

"You can't be fucking serious!" Kuai was shouting. "I've waited for years to get to that part, and you spoil it like a fucking asshole!" Fujin blinked tiredly and in shock. "And as I said, everyone knew that was going to happen. It was in the movie." Kuai groaned. "It's not the same! The book is always better than the movie; everyone knows that! Unless you're an idiot." Johnny snickered. "Nice to see you too, Kuai." The cryomancer flipped him off. "Fuck off, Johnny." 

"Um, hello," Kitana said. "I'm Princess Kitana; who are you?" Johnny, Kenshi, and Tomas snickered among themselves, while Bi-Han tried to cover his grin. Hanzo sighed, sitting down in one of the unoccupied chairs. Kuai grinned. "I'm Johnny's more attractive cousin." Johnny sputtered as he stopped laughing. "What the - tell the truth, asshole!" Kuai folded his arms, leaning against the wall comfortably. "Kuai Liang; unintentional genius, one of the many people better-looking than Johnny, Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei, and more commonly known as Sub-Zero." Kenshi snorted. "Soak up all that fame while you can."

"You're Sub-Zero," Stryker stared. Kuai rolled his eyes. "No. I'm an Elder God. YES, I'm Sub-Zero. And actually, I was enjoying myself when some asshole dragged me here." He glared at Fujin, shouting expletives at the god.

"That's Sub-Zero?" Kitana whispered to Jade. The other Edenian nodded. "He's cute, isn't he?" Kitana nodded immediately, glancing over to Liu Kang nervously. Sonya, who was standing nearby, grinned in understanding. 

Meanwhile, Kuai was still on his tirade, all anger returning to him. "You can't just leave me for five fucking minutes?  _Sub-Zero, some idiot stabbed himself. Grandmaster, the East Hall's been set on fire again. Sub-Zero, suck my dick please?"_ Kenshi lost all self-composure, cackling and falling to the ground. Raiden shook his head. "Sub-Zero, calm yourself." Kuai glared. "It's  _Kuai._ For fuck's sake, just get me the fuck out of here."

Kenshi, recovering his breath, gasped out, "STRESS!" That one word sent him, Johnny, and Tomas all in a state of hysteria. Kuai's eye twitched. "Did you just..." Abandoning all sense of thought, he launched himself over Nightwolf's stretcher, tackling Kenshi. Stryker and Kabal laughed at the sight.

Raiden decided to intervene, pulling Kuai up by his back collar. "Stop this nonsense!" he snapped. Kuai, red-faced with anger, shouted while kicking uselessly, "LET ME AT HIM!!! I TOLD HIM WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF HE SAID THAT AGAIN!" Johnny snorted. "Look, Kenshi, this is what I was telling you about all those years ago. Kuai is obviously a cat, not a dog. He lives for all the attention, is easy to please, and throws hissy fits." Tomas hummed thoughtfully from his corner. "You know, I can actually see that now." Kuai, starting to calm down, crossed his arms in a childish manner. "Fuck all of you."

Kenshi laughed. "I'm sorry." Kuai shook himself from Raiden's grip. "Yeah, whatever." Nightwolf cleared his throat politely. "Hello, Sub-Zero. Johnny here was telling all of us about how much you had changed over the years." Kuai snorted, casting a side-glance at the man mentioned. "Well, in my appearance at least. Really, I'm just the same person. And while we're on that subject, Tomas, I was the one who put the purple soda in the baths this morning." Tomas gaped at his smirking face. "YOU ASSHOLE! It took me so long to wash it out properly!" 

Liu Kang frowned. "Excuse me?" Bi-Han sighed. "Kuai had a reputation back then as the Lin Kuei's pest, or jester, whichever one you prefer." Johnny and Kenshi cackled with laughter. Kung Lao shook his head. "How were you that irresponsible?" Hanzo snorted. "I asked the same thing." Kuai crossed his arms. "Well, in case you didn't know, I'm always like this. You guys just don't see it because I'm working with you, so I act professionally." Kenshi shook his head. "No way in hell. You stuck clothespins on Johnny while we were on a stakeout, remember? You got all the way to his shoulder before he noticed."

Johnny glared at him. "You did ruin my jacket, you know." Kuai shrugged. "That was for the glue in my soap." Johnny gaped at him. "Well, the shampoo was for the dog food incident!" Kuai glared. "And the dog food incident was because of the clogged toilet!" Jax waved his arms wildly. "Alright, alright! Both of you, shut up!"

* * *

The ex-revenants along with the two gods were sitting in the pavilion. The sun was starting to come out, warming the air significantly but not melting the snow on the ground. They were also joined by Sonya, Jax, and the kids, who explained the major events dealing with Shinnok's rise and fall. "Well, at least Hanzo killed the sorcerer," Kabal said. Stryker shook his head. "But he didn't think about us at all! He would have left us in our previous states!" Kung Lao snorted. "Good old Scorpion. Thinking before he acts." Sonya shrugged. "Well, you're all alive and well, and Quan Chi is dead. We all win."

Suddenly, Tomas ran out of the nearest doors, somersaulting closer to the group. "Hi guys!" he sounded out of breath. "Heads up, Bi-Han and Hanzo coming out soon." He sat down next to Stryker. True to his word, the two men walked outside, arguing about something. "Well, it wasn't my fault that I wanted you dead so badly!" Hanzo said. "You were the one who killed me, you know." Bi-Han glared. "It was part of the job. You could have just stayed dead, and everyone would have been much happier."

They sat down among the others, their conversation thankfully going to other topics. Suddenly, from above them, Kuai, Kenshi, and Johnny were talking loudly. "NO!" Johnny shouted. Everyone looked up, watching in confusion and shock as Kuai and Kenshi were pushing him towards the edge of the balcony. "Come on, I want to see if Kenshi can do it," Kuai complained. Kenshi grunted. "If you'd stop struggling, it might give me some time to prepare." Hanzo and Bi-Han, suddenly taking the role of adults looking over their children, stood up. "STOP, YOU IDIOTS!" Bi-Han growled. A flash of fear surged from his eyes. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" Hanzo shouted.

At that moment, Johnny faltered, Kuai and Kenshi shoving him out. Kenshi immediately held out his hands to try to catch Johnny, but he was just seconds too late. Johnny fell into the pile of snow, thankfully unhurt. Kuai and Kenshi looked over the edge, frowning. "Damn," Kuai said, "I think we should have gone to the roof." Kenshi nodded as if this was perfectly normal and made total sense. "Should we do that next?" Kuai nodded his consent. "Hey, Johnny! Get up here! We weren't high enough the first time!" Johnny, pulling himself from the snow, groaned. He was miraculously unhurt. "The first time?" he asked.

Bi-Han interrupted. "Fuck no! You two, get down here right now!" Kuai and Kenshi groaned. "Come on, Bi-Han! You're no fun!" Kuai complained. Kenshi tapped Kuai's arm. "You know, we could throw you off the edge from the roof." Kuai perked up immediately. "That sounds like a _great_ idea. Let's go." They disappeared from view. Fujin coughed. "Since when did throwing yourself off a building qualify as a 'great idea'?" 

Before anyone could answer, they heard shouting from the roof of the temple. "Ready, Kenshi?" Kuai asked. The blind swordsman nodded, holding his hands out in preparation. Kuai counted down. "Three, two, one!" He ran three strides, throwing himself off the building and whooping with joy. Hanzo felt his heart rise in his throat, but halfway down, Kuai stopped completely, surrounded by a blue aura. "Nice job, Kenshi!" he cheered. Kenshi called down, "Thanks. I'm setting you down on your feet now." 

Johnny punched Kuai's arm. "You two dickbags. Having all the fun without me?" Kuai snorted. "You didn't jump correctly, dumbass." Johnny crossed his arms. "That's how we're going to play, prick?" Kuai smirked. "That was incredibly weak, fatass. I thought you had some other insult in your head, but I should have remembered that your brain is the equivalent size of a pea." Kenshi, finally making his way down, called out, "Oh, shut up you two. You both have small dicks anyway!" Kuai whipped around, about to retort something. "Better than having blue balls!" Johnny cackled. 

Hanzo made his way over to them, frowning. "If you do anything as stupid as that again, I swear to the Elder Gods..." Kuai rolled his eyes. "Whatever, MOM." The trio all burst out in peals of laughter. Kitana whispered in Jade's ear, "He's funny. Not like, Cage funny, but more in like a cute way." Jade nodded in agreement, giggling.

"What the hell inspired you fucking idiots to start throwing yourselves off buildings?!" Bi-Han shouted, furious. Johnny cleared his throat, holding his hands up in surrender. "Alright, here's what happened."

* * *

_"So, we were walking down the hallways and trying to go outside, when I tripped over my own feet and Kenshi caught me before I could hit the ground. He did it so quickly that Kuai and I were like, "Wow, that's so cool, man!" And Kenshi's just acting like himself, you know, shrugging it off and saying, "Wasn't that big of a deal." And then, we grabbed other objects and dropped them, trying to see how quickly Kenshi can stop them before they hit the floor._

_And at this time, we're having fun, when Kenshi says, "You know, I could probably catch one of you idiots if you throw yourself off a building." And I thought he was joking until Kuai was like, "Fine. Let's go!" and he dragged us to the nearest balcony. Then, Kenshi was like, "Wait, dude. We have to get one person to fall. I can't do two, you know?" And Kuai was like, "Well, that's fine. We should let Johnny have his chance to shine." And then, before I can protest, the two are shoving me towards the edge, and I'm like, shouting for my life, you know?_

_And then, before I know it, I start getting tired, and I find myself feeling weightless as I'm falling. I feel Kenshi's powers trying to catch me, but he's like, way too late. So that's why."_

* * *

Bi-Han rubbed his eyes. "I can't fucking believe you guys." Kenshi shrugged. "I brought it up; I didn't suggest we do it." Eyes were trained on Kuai, who crossed his arms. "Oh, okay then. Blame the guy who had the courage to do something. I was BORED. You can't blame me for that."

His older brother threw his hands in the air, walking away. "Why do I even bother?!" Tomas and Kuai snickered quietly behind his back as he retreated. Hanzo huffed in irritation. "You are all going to stay  _here._ Talk, or something, like sensible human beings." Tomas lifted a finger. "Actually, we're not human. I'm an Enenra. And he's a cryomancer. And he's a telepathic-telekinetic person. Johnny doesn't count." Hanzo glared menacingly. "Do I look like I care? Go!" Tomas pouted, slinking off to join Johnny and Kenshi who were already engaged in a conversation with Kung Lao. 

At that moment, Raiden walked out of the temple, joining the kombatants. "Is everybody enjoying themselves?" he asked. Kung Lao replied in a nonchalant manner, "Well, after what looked like a murder attempt on Johnny's life, I'd say that things have finally calmed down a bit." Raiden sighed briefly, rubbing his temples before continuing. "Now that everyone is here, may I suggest an activity for us to do in our unused time?" Kenshi snorted immediately. "Ha. Ha-ha. **No**." Jacqui groaned. "We've done so many stupid things. Why are we doing another one?" 

Fujin spoke up unhelpfully. "Actually, I've never had the opportunity to play in such activities." Hanzo exhaled in stress. "There's a reason why we don't do this. How have none of us learned that yet?" Tomas shrugged from across the open outdoor area. "We're just all stupid that way." Raiden's eyes sparked, silencing everything. "Why don't you want to participate, Kenshi?" Said blind swordsman groaned. "Where do I fucking begin? The biggest point is that we're all just too competitive. Then, there's the fact that none of us can ever get along. Tell you what," he said, turning to address the Kombat Kids, "if any of you give Johnny a five-paragraph essay detailing why competitive games are a bad idea for us, I'll excuse you from running laps for a month."

Takeda frowned as if the entire idea was a trick. "Is... that all we have to do?" 

A clap of sudden thunder startled everyone, Raiden glaring at them all, annoyed. "Everyone inside, now. We are doing this now."

* * *

Eyebrows were raised when Johnny sat at the circle they made on the floor wearing a bulletproof vest. He crossed his arms defensively at their questioning looks and judging glances. "What? I'm NOT the one being stabbed this time." 

Liu Kang shook his head in disbelief. "What the hell have you done in our absence?" Jax grinned, looking back at that day. "Good memories. The idiot stole Sonya's cookies, and as she was chasing him, he managed to impale himself on a hunting decoration." 

Kuai whispered something to Tomas sitting next to him, the grey-clad assassin laughing loudly. Raiden shook his head in exasperation. "Johnny can wear whatever he wants. As no one seems to want to do Truth or Dare-" 

"Oh, god no," Sonya muttered.

"-then we can just do Two Truths, One Lie." 

Kuai and Tomas swivelled their heads to Bi-Han, the three of them breaking off in peals of laughter (Bi-Han only chuckling, of course). Kung Lao held Liu's forearm. "Just don't ask," he advised wisely. Raiden raised his hand for silence, speaking again, "Why don't you go first, Stryker?" 

The policeman frowned in thought before saying, "My favorite color is blue, I fell off a building, or I grew up with a pet." Tomas rolled his eyes. "That's so boring. And I'm pretty sure your favorite color is green, not blue." Stryker crossed his arms in defense. "Well, I came up with it on the spot. And yeah, you're right. Why don't you try if you're so good at it, then?" 

Tomas nodded. "Sure. Why not?" He leaned back comfortably. "I ran buck-naked through the mountains here at night, I streaked through the nearby village, or I spent an hour in a well before someone pulled me out." There was a silence as Kuai nudged Tomas's arms, the two snickering behind their hands. 

Nightwolf frowned. "You wouldn't have been able to survive a night in the mountains. It would have been too cold!" Tomas shook his head, laughing. "Nope! The lie was the one about the well." Kuai and Tomas rolled on the ground, laughing. "Oh, god!" Kuai gasped. "I still remember how the Grandmaster made you run at night because you didn't want to do your daily push-ups. Everyone hoped you would die, but you came back the next morning, grinning like an idiot! You were able to preserve heat for yourself!" 

Tomas wheezed out, "And... remember when I was trying... to steal the pie sitting... on the window? My outfit... was too heavy,... so I ditched it. I was chased... through the village naked. I got the pie, though!"

Bi-Han shook his head, trying to not look too affectionate. "You were an idiot, okay? We all know this."

Tomas nudged Kuai. "Your turn," he gasped. "Make it good."

Kuai composed himself, sitting up straight. "Alright. I got lost for three months on a tracking lesson, I lit the entire temple on fire, or I stole the Grandmaster's cat." Tomas was cackling, hands clutching his sides as he fell to the ground again.  

Bi-Han sighed exasperatedly, remembering this _too_ well. "How the hell do you get yourself lost for three fucking months? He was even in clan territory the entire time, as shown by the tracks. Statistically speaking, you should have stumbled across the temple at least once, you dumbass!" 

Tomas had tears leaking out from his eyes. "And the time when he set the entire temple on fire! He was transporting some type of oil, but the barrels were leaking. He got it to the kitchen and wanted to light a fire in the stove. There was a spark that connected with the oil, and it caught on fire, spreading through to the path of oil he had created on his way there!"

Bi-Han rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess I could say that I've learned a valuable lesson today. Don't be stupid as you two. Honestly, it shouldn't be _that_ hard."

Kuai and Tomas looked at Bi-Han immediately with incredulous looks. "Bi-Han, no offense, but Tomas and I have _so_ much dirt on you," Kuai said, crossing his arms comfortably. 


End file.
